


The Guardians of Mianite

by LadyKamerackHarmony



Series: Guardians of Mianite [1]
Category: Mianite - Fandom, Minecraft - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:04:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 49,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3023069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKamerackHarmony/pseuds/LadyKamerackHarmony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Loosely based on the Mianite Youtube series. Also posted on FF.net and Wattpad, under the account brokenkitty95.)</p><p>In the Realm of Mianite, Mianite is essentially God and Dianite, the devil; however, this leads one to wonder: what would the angels and demons be like? Well, more specifically, what would the angel and the demon be like? Mianite creates a creature he dubs 'Guardian', a title which Dianite takes and later uses for his own creation. Chaos may ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quick Q&A

**Author's Note:**

> Good day!
> 
> This is actually a series of one-shots 'based' (loosely) on the Mianite series on YouTube. More will be explained in the first story of the series that will be posted, as to what I really mean about 'loosely based'. Whenever I think there should be a warning for anything, it will be in the notes like these. I'll try to warn for anything I notice, and I'm sorry if I miss anything! Feel free to tell me, and I'll add a warning up here.
> 
> The series of one-shots is open to prompts! Feel free to send me a message/comment with any ideas you may have!
> 
> Chapter warnings:  
> None? It's informative only.

**Q:** **Who/What are Lara and Jace?**

A: Lara and Jace are creatures called ‘Guardians’. Mianite originally comes up with the title for Lara, and Dianite commandeers it for Jace. ‘Guardians’ are not real Mianite creatures and are simply my own creation for fun and because, if Mianite is God and Dianite is the Devil, then where are the angels and demons?

 

**Q: What is a Guardian?**

A: A Guardian, to put it simply, it essentially the Mianite version of a guardian angel. They are loyal to their Creator and will do anything asked of them by their Creator. Lara is loyal to Mianite; Jace is loyal to Dianite. However, something of note is that Lara is willingly loyal to Mianite, but not at all afraid to ask questions when she’s confused by something Mianite wants; Jace, however, will never question Dianite. The gods can kill them and Jace believes that Dianite will not hesitate to destroy him.

 

**Q: If Mianite and Dianite have Guardians, does Ianite have one?**

A: Yes. I fully intend to have a Guardian for Ianite. I already have one in mind, but I’d like to learn more about Ianite before I completely flesh out the character. Hint: It’s an Enderdragon. If only just to be spiteful towards Tom and because it seem canonically accepted that Ianite’s pet was an Enderdragon. Also, I like the idea of Ianite having the strongest and most threatening Guardian since Lara and Jace are mostly tamed.

 

**Q: How do the Guardians react to the people in the Realm of Mianite?**

A: Lara is in a constant state of ‘I like you/I hate you’. She adores them… to a point. Jace just thinks of them mostly as toys. That being said, both Guardians get along with their respective teammates. Lara is helpful to Tucker and Sonja; Jace is mischievous enough to keep up with Tom. Nade is mostly accepted by Jace, although Jace is annoyed by Nade’s possible allegiance with the Shadows. Jordan is a gray area because neither Guardian really wants to be seen as harmful in his eyes, but Lara has a bit closer of a relationship with Jordan considering Mianite has somewhat taken Jordan under his wing. But they both love Declan.

 

**Q: How do they react to one another?**

A: Unlike their Creators, Lara and Jace don’t really fight. They might bicker and try to scare the other one off sometimes, but they will always return to each other. They’re essentially siblings/cousins. Lara is the protective older one who is often annoyed by Jace, and Jace is the childish rebel who is impulsively getting himself into trouble.

 

**Q: Why don’t the Guardians ever mention Ianite or her Guardian?**

A: Actually, they don’t have (much) memory of either of them. Dianite and Mianite attempted to wipe their memories of Ianite and the other Guardian. Mianite did it out of pity for Lara when he saw how Ianite’s disappearance hurt her; Dianite did it to make sure Jace wouldn’t try to save Ianite. Let me just say this, though: Lara is older than Jace, which means she would remember more about Ianite. It’s very likely that Mianite didn’t remove everything, but if he didn’t, Lara chooses not to talk about it out of mercy for Jace.

 

**Q: How do they refer to themselves?**

A: As ‘Mianite/Dianite Spawn’. Jace and Lara will call one another their respective god’s ‘Spawn’, as well as calling one another devil or angel respectively. The title they choose as correct, however, is the former and they only ever call each other devil/angel in attempt to instigate. Hence why it’s mostly Jace who starts it, or Lara calling Jace ‘devil’ to shut him up.

 


	2. Lara's Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He creates the little thing one day and then just watches it as it roams and explores. He does not know whether or not it knows who its Creator is. It seems quite happy with its obliviousness, if it does not know. It seems quite happy in general.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> None, I believe? Feel free to inform me if you spot any.

He creates the little thing one day and then just watches it as it roams and explores. He does not know whether or not it knows who its Creator is. It seems quite happy with its obliviousness, if it does not know. It seems quite happy in general.

 

Its little, fluffy, white wings flutter occasionally and it takes a few moments to get used to how they work. It flaps them once and hovers a few feet above the grass before dropping less than gracefully back down. When that seems to make it feel dissatisfied, it flaps them again. This time, it spreads the appendages outward and floats harmlessly back down. The realization of its abilities has made it content once again, and it quickly learns to use its wings to gain height faster.

 

It likes the tree and the flowers. It stops and watches the leaves rustle in the wind, looking up at the leaves with wide-eyed fascination. It hovers off of the ground. After a moment, it reaches up and moves its hands in the leaves, causing them to rustle. The next thing it finds is a yellow flower, which it carefully prods with a finger before deciding that the flower is too fragile to be inspected as roughly as it had examined the leaves. Instead, it gently pats the flower and walks away from it.

 

He watches his creation for a long while. It finds snow and mountains; crops and animals; sand and water and lava. When night falls, he waits with baited breath to see what it will do with his brother’s creatures. He watches as its tiny wings twitch at the groans of a zombie. The little thing turns to glance around for the source of the noise, which upon finding it tilts its head at curiously. The zombie makes a grab for it and it hops back once, still gazing curiously upon the mob.

 

After a few moments, the zombie seems to realize that the creature is evading it and it leaves. Creepers hiss quietly, but stay away when they notice that the creature can fly out of their explosion radius. The endermen chatter amongst themselves and regard the creature fondly; a few even step forward to return its curious gaze – but neither appear threatened by the presence of the other.

 

Before the night ends, the winged creature gets its first experience dealing with pain. It cries and arches its fluffy wings, one of which has been stained with a red color where a skeleton’s arrow has pierced. Its crying turns into wailing when the skeleton marches forward with another arrow ready to deliver a death blow.

 

Only then does he interfere. He steps forward and smites the mob where it stands, making certain that he creates a big enough scene that that other mobs stay far, far away from his creation. Only the endermen remain nearby, chattering in softer tones, and only then does he realize that his sister may be keeping a close eye on his creation as well. The endermen are hers, after all.

 

He turns his attention back to the tiny thing. It sniffles and whimpers up at him, eyes filled with tears. He wonders what it makes of him. Does it truly think he would harm it? Hardly. He’s put too much work into creating it to go killing it now.

 

“Greetings,” he says.

 

It tips its head at him, blinking a few times. Clearly, he thinks, it does not know how to speak. It may know what the world is, but it has no knowledge of how to speak of what it knows. No one has taught it words.

 

He lowers to its level and offers a kind smile. “Hello,” he says, “can you say ‘hello’?”

 

“H—He…Hel…lo?” It tries.

 

He nods. “That is right. Hello.”

 

“Hello,” it repeats more confidently, before sniffling once.

 

“Do not fear me,” he tells it. “I would not bring harm to you. I created you.”

 

He brushes its hair from its face, looking into its blue eyes. It seems calmer now, more at peace. Its tiny wings flutter briefly behind it, and the tiny thing’s hands come up to catch his before he can move the hand away from its face. The thing turns his hand over, frowning when it doesn’t seem to find anything important about his hands. It makes a noise that sounds very much like a hum.

 

“What are you looking for?” He asks.

 

It does not answer him. He does not expect it to, for it probably does not know how to describe what it is searching for.

 

It stands up suddenly, still holding onto his hand, and tugs. He raises a brow, but obliges it and gets to his feet. “What are we doing?” He asks it. It points towards the trees and tugs a few more times of his hands.

 

He chuckles because he understands. He may not understand why his hand was so important to it – perhaps because he would touch without being harmful after it had just gotten hurt – but he understand what it wants now. It wants to show him the trees; it wants to show him everything it has learned because it does not know that he has seen everything already. It does not know that he created the trees and flowers and everything it sees in the Overworld.

 

“Ah,” he says, pointing with his free hand in the direction that he believes she is trying to lead him, “the trees. Can you say ‘tree’?”

 

“T—Tr _ee_?” It attempts, drawing out the vowel a bit too long.

 

“Tree,” he repeats.

 

“Tree,” it echoes.

 

“That is correct. You are doing very well.”

 

“Tr—” It stops speaking and walking suddenly.

 

He glances down at it and notices that it is staring mutely ahead. A glance upwards rewards him with view of his brother, standing not far from the tree line, gazing upon the little creature with an unreadable expression. The Creator does not express his concern, but something deeply rooted within him hopes that his brother will not be cruel to the winged creature.

 

His brother steps forward a few paces, stopping once he is before them, and raises a brow questioningly down at the creature.

 

“Hello,” the thing greets, with innocence and naivety and bold-faced trust in its tone.

 

Its Creator’s brother makes a humming noise at it before raising his gaze to meet the Creator. “ _What_ is this?” He demands.

 

The Creator pauses for a moment. “I am… unsure,” he admits, “It is an experiment.”

 

“An experiment?” His brother repeats.

 

“Yes,” he confirms, although he is unsure as to what kind of experiment it is.

 

His brother huffs in frustration and cross his arms over his chest. “Does it have a name?”

 

“No,” he answers.

 

The thing tugs on his hand. It is clearly no longer interested in being talked about, and instead wishes to return to its prior task. He opens his mouth to ask it to hush, but his brother has already snapped out a sharp _do not interrupt_ at it. It goes silent for a moment.

 

After that moment, it does something that shocks its Creator. It releases his hand, grabs his brother’s, and tugs on the limb. The other god gives it a glare, but does not tear his hand away from it. Instead, he simply demands, “What?”

 

“Tree,” it says, pointing at the line of trees that the other god had left to approach them.

 

“Yes,” the god says, “those are trees. What is important about them?”

 

The Creator looks over at his brother. “It wishes to show you what it has learned,” he informs.

 

His brother raises a brow before looking back down at the creature. “Fine.”

 

It tugs him over to the trees, occasionally glancing back to ensure that its Creator is also following. Satisfied, it pushes off of the ground and into the air, batting at the leaves with its hands so they rustle – just as its Creator had seen it do before. After a moment of making the sound, it floats downward just enough that it meets the god’s eyes and then it points expectantly at the tree.

 

When his brother gives it a long, unreadable glance, the Creator chuckles and moves forward. He brings a hand up and shakes the leaves, causing them to make noise. The winged creature grins and flutters a bit higher, before returning to its pointed glance at the other god.

 

“Will it make you stop giving me that pitiful look if I entertain you?” The brother growls.

 

The creature tips its head at him. It turns to its Creator, searching for an answer. He nods, and the thing turns to back his brother, nodding eagerly.

 

“Fine,” the god huffs. He copies what the Creator had done. It gains a similar reaction from the winged creature as well, and shortly after the creature settles its fleshy-pink bare feet against the grass once more. It wanders away from the two, walking over to where a patch of red and yellow flowers are growing.

 

“Has Sister witnessed this new creation of yours?”

 

“Perhaps. The endermen have acknowledged it. I doubt they will keep silent of their discovery.”

 

“It will need a name, Brother.”

 

“I am not certain what it should have as one.”

 

“What will be its purpose?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“The animals are used as food or transportation or guards; the mobs are used as offensive and defensive measures. This… thing will need a purpose to guide it.”

 

The creature makes a loud noise. Both gods turn to look towards it. It is waving its arms at a horse, seeming quite upset about something that the animal has done. A quick survey of the area leaves its Creator to notice that one of the flowers have been stepped upon and the creature now looks heartbroken.

 

His brother huffs a short laugh. “It is very protective of nature.”

 

“Guardian.”

 

“What?”

 

“It will be a Guardian. It will work for me to protect my creations. Its name will be… Lara.”

 

His brother hums. “Lara?” He echoes. “I suppose that is fitting of it, Mianite.”

 

Mianite offers his brother a rare smile. “I believe so, Dianite.”


	3. Jace's Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dianite disapproves of Mianite's creation, and in an attempt to one-up his brother, creates his own 'Guardian'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning:  
> Minor mentions of violence; none others, I believe. Feel free to inform me if you spot any.

Dianite scowls, watching as his brother coddles the… _thing_ after a zombie has managed to scratch one of its wings. The little creature – what was it called? Guardian? – whines quietly and curls closer to Mianite. It flutters its tiny wings when Mianite’s hands heal them. Instead of returning to its game of flight, however, it chooses to stay snuggled up in his brother’s protective arms.

 

Dianite thinks it’s sickening. Once more, Mianite has created something that cannot defend itself. Dianite had thought his brother had learned better when Mianite had created the wolves, but clearly, this creature was just a step backwards. It was too curious; it was too quick to get itself into a mess because it wanted to innocently understand what everything was. While Dianite takes some selfish pleasure in watching his brother’s newest creature fail to stand up against the mobs he had crafted, there is a distinct lack of victory in the scene. He has not won by being stronger; he has succeeded because Mianite’s creature will not fight back against the monsters it faces.

 

He storms off to the Nether and decides, vindictively, to fashion his own creature. His will be stronger, braver, faster. Everything Mianite’s _Guardian_ is not. It will rip apart the mobs in the Nether, and then taking out those in the Overworld will be of no trouble. Perhaps it will even destroy Mianite’s precious little ‘Lara’.

 

When he finally finishes his creation, he watches it briefly. It steps around the Nether, mindful of the fire. Two dark wings twitch behind it. This creature’s wings are not like Mianite’s Guardian’s wings; this creature’s wings remind him of the bats Mianite had created, although Dianite has made them suitable for high temperatures. It would not do him well to have a creature that would be unable to sustain its life in the Nether.

 

Dianite draws a blaze in closer with a wave of his hand. The blaze hisses and growls. It immediately catches the new creature’s attention, and the thing turns to the blaze with curious eyes. At first, Dianite believes he has failed. He believes that this creature will only copy the curious behavior of its predecessor and curses it inwardly.

 

To Dianite’s relief, the creature snarls and lunges forward. Tiny claws latch onto the head of the blaze. Sharpened teeth clamp down on one of the rods, ripping it away from the gravity field and spitting it onto the nether rack. In an instant, the blaze shrieks and tries in vain desperation to shake off its attacker, but the new creature holds tight and balances using its wings.

 

A smirk crosses the god’s face as he watches. Yes. _This_ is a proper ‘Guardian’. _This_ is a creature that can defend things – unlike Mianite’s pathetic attempt at creating one. He is very proud of his creation. It is better than anything Mianite could ever hope to create.

 

After a moment, the blaze disappears into smoke. The new creature lands on the nether rack, still growling. Dianite pats it on the head.

 

“You did very well,” he offers.

 

It tips its head at him, falling silent aside from a soft, deep-chested purr that sounds like it should belong to an ocelot and not a vicious creature like it. Dianite feels its tiny horns dig slightly into the skin of his palm. One day, those horns will be sharper and more threatening to anyone daring to touch its head.

 

“Are you content?” He asks it.

 

It blinks once, twice, and then smiles.

 

He hums to himself. “Jace,” he decides, “that is a fitting title for you. Come along, Jace. There are more mobs to which I wish to see your reaction.”

 

As he turns and walks away, Dianite finds himself briefly offering a glance back at the creature – the Guardian, Jace. Jace hesitates only a moment before darting forward, chasing after him eagerly.


	4. Lady Ianite's Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Ianite's Guardian is introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> None? Feel free to point out if you notice any!

Jordan blinks, staring up at the ceiling of his house. The thought of moving into Jerry’s Tree once again comes, unbidden, to his mind. It is not that he does not like this house anymore – in fact, he loves it; it has memories attached to it – but the tree feels more comfortable. More familiar. For all of the memories that his current home has, Jerry’s Tree has ten more to meet it. It is also larger, with a better-hidden vault, and is, in a sense, a gift from the Wizards. A reminder of what home used to be.

 

He sighs and shuts his eyes, shoving away the thought. No, he’s content here. This house is hardly poorly made, despite it having its flaws and not being as massive as Sonja and Tucker’s home or as decorated as Tom’s tower. It is perfect for him – for someone who has nothing to hide.

 

_For someone who is alone._

 

That is a chord that strikes home to Jordan. Yes, he has typically traveled alone. He has rarely had a large group of friends to surround himself with on his journeys – but now that he has got friends around, the sensation of lonesomeness and emptiness is noticeable. It is palpable, weighing down on his chest like an anvil and making his heart fill ill with envy. Tucker and Sonja have each other; Tom has Nadeshot; the Modsteps have each other; and even Declan has someone with whom he can venture and discuss regularly. Jordan is alone.

 

And suddenly that is the worst thing he could ever admit to himself.

 

He considers getting out of his bed. Walking out of the door. Maybe heading to the Mianite temple to visit Lara. He stops himself, though. Lara is most likely with Jace, dancing around him like she seems to always do, while the younger Guardian laughs and entertains the idea of stealing gold blocks from the temple.

 

Jordan’s thoughts trail to Furio. Dianite had called Fiara a Guardian, had he not? Was there a relationship between Jace and Furio, one that was dangerous and threatening? The mere question of it makes his stomach knot. Anxiety kicks in, and Jordan finds himself wondering what a Guardian really is, whether or not Jace and Lara are really what they seem.

 

Caught in his thoughts, Jordan just manages to catch what sounds like an enderman teleporting. His first instinct is to get to his feet, grab for his sword, and find the creature. He does not truthfully need more pearls, but it is always a service to have them. He is certain Ianite would understand why he chooses to go after the creatures of the End.

 

However, when he attempts to sit up, he realizes that it is not just the loneliness that has settled atop his chest.

 

There is also something _real_ on his chest.

 

And, by the feel of things, it is _moving._

He opens his eyes immediately and reaches down to grab the thing on his chest. It is cold and covered in plated scales that make Jordan think of a snake. But there are no snakes in Mianite, are there? He has not seen one; no one has mentioned anything about snakes. Whatever thing is on his chest, however, is covered in the scales – and further inspection promises that it has a tail, and a snout, and—

 

Two glowing purple eyes, which are now looking at Jordan as curiously and cautiously as he is looking at them.

 

Realization hits Jordan like a lightning strike. The thing on top of him – the _creature_ on top of him – is an _Enderdragon_. The knowledge of that makes Jordan’s heart race in his chest because _how_? Tom had killed the only Enderdragon in the Realm. How can there possibly be another, and how can it be so small?

 

The little Enderdragon, which is only the size of a fairly large cat, presses its cold, wet nose against Jordan’s hairline, sniffing at him. It pulls back after a moment, blinking once, twice.

 

“Uh… hi there…?” Jordan greets.

 

The dragon tilts its head, warbling quietly. Its tail swishes across Jordan’s stomach. Only then does Jordan realize, with an even deeper sinking feeling, that he does not know how to read the body language of an Enderdragon. It may very well want to eat him and he is not certain he could fight off even a baby dragon by himself.

 

“Good… Good dragon,” he says. He dares to lift his hand to stroke underneath its chin. The dragon lets out a noise similar to a purr, leaning into his touch. After a moment, it rolls over onto its back, stretching its neck.

 

Jordan risks a smile. “Hey there. You’re not so mean, are you? I’m just gonna…”

 

He raises his other hand, bringing his fingers to the chat-pad attached to his wrist. With just a brush across the screen, a hologram appears. He sifts through the names located on the projection until he finds Declan’s. After that, he just hopes that Dec is awake still – and has some idea as to why an Enderdragon is now located on his chest.

 

_< CaptainSparklez>: Sooooo… Declan._

_< CaptainSparklez>: Did the gods get in touch with you recently?_

 

He waits a moment – two, three, four, five. All the while, he tries to keep the little dragon content. It continues to purr and rumble out quiet growls at him, which he assumes to be happy noises because it has yet to try to bite him. If he has not yet lost a limb, he can only guess that the creature is delighted.

 

_< CommunityMC>: Yes, they did._

_< CommunityMC>: Lady Ianite mentioned that she sent you a present._

_< CommunityMC>: It should be arriving soon._

Jordan blinks down at the dragon before turning his gaze back to the hologram.

 

_< CaptainSparklez>: Did she say what it was?_

_< CommunityMC>: She mentioned that there were a few like it already._

_< CaptainSparklez>: Is it named?_

_< CommunityMC>: Lady Ianite didn’t mention a name._

He hums and looks longer at the dragon. It has moved away from his hand now. In fact, it is now sitting on the floor, playing with a few loose strands hanging from his blanket. It lets out noises that should probably be the beginnings of a roar, but instead sound like a cat just learning to hiss. The sounds are almost adorably squeaky.

 

_< CaptainSparklez>: Okay. Thanks, Dec. Night._

He shuts down the chat-pad, and then swings his legs carefully over the side of the bed. The dragon jumps back. It lowers down so its chest is closer to the floor and raises its hind into the air. Jordan wonders for only a moment what it is planning, before he remembers the cat he once had. Karry had behaved similarly when she was about to—

 

 

He flinches slightly, feeling the dragon land on his left foot. Its feet scramble around on top of his foot, batting at his shoe. Tiny claws scratch against the shoe, but do nothing to damage it otherwise.

 

Jordan breathes a sigh of relief.

 

“Haha… oh. You just… wanna play, huh?”

 

He reaches down, sweeping the dragon up into his arms. It whines for a moment before settling against his chest. It presses its head over his head and growls softly, eyes slipping closed.

 

“You need a name,” Jordan tells it, “are you a boy or a girl, though?”

 

He hums and considers checking, face turning red at the thought. He decides against it. Instead, he thinks back to seeing the dragon on its back earlier. It had not seemed then to be male, and Jordan had heard rumors of Enderdragons being primarily female. The rumors stated that the egg taken after the defeat of an Enderdragon was actually just that dragon, waiting to be reborn.

 

“How about…”

 

He bites his bottom lip.

 

Whistles a few times.

 

Bounces on his heels.

 

Because he cannot think of a name for it.

 

His thoughts trail to his days spent with his friends. Memories of things that they have named coming to mind, and only then does Jordan realize that he has not named many things. Sonja has Borris; Tom has his fish; Tucker has other fish he has named to replace Tom’s; Nade has his horse.

 

Jordan has Jerry, but Jerry is not a very feminine name – and there is already one Jerry, waiting for Jordan in the tree, a namesake for the lost slime.

 

Jordan looks down at the dragon. Dragoness? She is asleep in his arms. Despite her state of being, she is still growling quietly in time with his heartbeat. Content that she is asleep, he glances out of his window and notices something bright and shiny in the sky.

 

 

That is it.

 

“Polaris,” he says. “That’s your name, girl. Your name is Polaris now.”


	5. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A direct continuation of the last chapter, because baby Polaris is adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> Minor violence. None others, I believe. Feel free to tell me if you notice any!

When Jordan wakes up in the morning, it takes him a moment to register than there is still an Enderdragon in his home. Polaris is asleep on his chest. She makes soft noises in his sleep, but awakens immediately when his hand brushes her scales. Two purple eyes meet his own blue ones, and the dragoness chirps inquisitively.

 

“It’s morning,” Jordan says.

 

He does not believe that she knows what ‘morning’ is, but she nods at him all the same. He scoops her up as he sits, so as not to deposit the clawed creature into his lap unguarded. It is then that Jordan feels a difference in her body. Her scales do not cover her belly; the area is completely soft and unprotected, possibly easily damaged with a weapon. Out of protective instinct, Jordan draws the dragoness closer.

 

She chirrups up at him, confused, and he shakes his head at her. “Let’s go eat,” he suggests instead, “and then you can meet some of the others.”

 

 

Polaris spends the majority of the time that Jordan is trying to cook food trying to get up onto his shoulders. The dragoness has succeeded multiple times – and Jordan has praised her each and every time, even though her claws are starting to _really_ hurt his shoulders – but she has yet to balance perfectly. That fact seems to upset her, so she continues to try. When she finally succeeds, she drapes her tail over one of Jordan’s shoulders, nuzzles his cheek, and lays her head down.

 

“You got it, did you?” He jokes. “Well, that’s good. Hey, food’s done if you want a piece. I mean…” He glances at her out of the corner of his eye. “You eat meat, right?”

 

She snorts at him and stands back up, carefully walking down his arm. Jordan remains still. If she falls and gets hurt, he may not forgive himself. She is a gift from Ianite, after all. He is supposed to protect her.

 

Polaris grabs a piece of steak out of Jordan’s hand. She balances on his arm for another moment longer, and then leaps to the floor, trotting off with her food. Jordan has half-the-mind to follow her and see where she will go with it, but a sense of warning settles over him. Once again, he does not know dragons. He does not know if Polaris will attack him if he follows her without her warranting it. He does not—

 

“ _Jace, get back here!_ ”

 

“Aw, what’s wrong? Angel got up wrong this morning?”

 

“ _Jace._ ”

 

“Look, I just wanna see the thing.”

 

Jordan sighs as his door is ungracefully thrown open. He hears Polaris let out a half-roar, which sounds more like an angry growl than a roar, as the two Guardians enter. Jace darts into the home, whizzing past him and down the stairs where Polaris had retreated. Lara flies in as well, but stops next to Jordan.

 

“I’m so sorry,” she offers, “Mianite mentioned that Ianite’s Guardian has arrived. He mentioned that it was with you. I suppose Jace overheard and—”

 

Jordan holds up a hand, effectively silencing the Guardian. “Don’t even worry about it.”

 

“You’re still bitter about the tree,” Lara notes.

 

“I won’t forgive either of them,” he confirms.

 

She nods. “I understand.”

 

After a moment, Jordan hears a _horrible_ shriek and Jace suddenly darts up the stairs, ducking behind Lara and _whining_. The younger Guardian’s tail flicks viciously and his wings tremble. Lara only sighs at him, reaching back to pat Jace on the head.

 

“It bit me,” Jace whines.

 

“It’s a dragon. You interrupted its feeding time,” Lara reasons, “what did you expect? Not to mention, one of yours killed it before. Do you know how long it took me to steal that egg back? _Weeks._ Thank your lucky stars that it wasn’t destroyed.”

 

Jace grumbles something at her, which the older Guardian shrugs off with ease. The younger one then turns to Jordan. “What’d you name it?”

 

Jordan shakes his head. “I named _her_ Polaris.”

 

“That’s a funny name,” Jace teases.

 

“It’s beautiful, Jordan,” Lara corrects.

 

“Lara, I thought you—”

 

The older Guardian presses a finger to her lips and shoots Jordan a stern glance. He closes his mouth and nods. Lara turns around, grabs Jace, and drags him out of the house with a quiet, “We’ll see you later, Jordan. Be safe.”

 

 

Tom reacts how Jordan expects him to react – by sizing Polaris up, laughing, and saying that he could “totally take her in a fight”.

 

To which Polaris responds by breathing _fire_ at Tom and chasing the zombie-man around for a good ten minutes, while Jordan laughs so hard that he winds himself.

 

“Ah! Ah! Jordan, call it off! Call it off already, mate,” Tom hollers, darting into his tower. The only thing that stops Polaris from getting to him is the fact that he has placed stone behind his door and her flames cannot reach him. She stands on her hind legs, clawing at the stone with her front feet.

 

Jordan shrugs, hugging his sides as he walks up the hill. “You shouldn’t have insulted her,” he answers.

 

“I was just joking,” Tom insists. “C’mon, fiery-breath, I was just kidding with you!”

 

Jordan walks over, scooping the dragoness up and letting her crawl onto his shoulders. She lays there, growling softly when Tom destroys one of the stone bricks. To Jordan’s surprise, Tom yelps quietly and ducks down. Jordan smirks.

 

Maybe he is not quite over his tree being burnt down, but Tom does not deserve him to be, either. It had been a cold, cruel thing to do. He had done it knowing that Jordan could not equalize the damages. Tom had no spare home; he had nothing that Jordan knew of to be of equal value. Aside from destroying the castle Tom had commissioned for Nade, or the night club that Jordan, Tucker, and Sonja had worked on, nothing was as precious to Tom as the tree had been to Jordan. Jordan knows that he is not about to leave Nade homeless and destroy more of the Wizard’s work, and the night club had been a gift for everyone in the end.

 

Jordan spins around when he hears voices and footsteps. Tucker and Sonja are approaching fast, running up the hill with swords in hand. Polaris makes a quiet, curious rumble, but she hushes when Jordan holds a finger to his lips.

 

Tucker is the first to look around. His eyes are a bit wild and threatening. The sight of the enchanted diamond sword in his grip makes Jordan suddenly remember how soft and vulnerable Polaris’ underbelly is, and the Ianite follower reaches up, prepared to remove the dragoness from his shoulders. His fingers pause on her scales, moving away only when she growls confusedly at him.

 

“Where’s the dragon?” Tucker asks. “Tom messaged us and said—”

 

“Are you blind, Tucker?” Tom snaps, “it’s right there, on Jordan’s shoulders!”

 

“ _That?_ ” Sonja blinks at Tom before turning her gaze towards Polaris. “It’s so tiny, though. We thought you meant a real Enderdragon, Tom. Like… an adult one.”

 

Tucker nods, lowering his sword. He brushes his bangs out of his eyes. “Yeah, that one’s actually kind of cute,” he admits, “but, Jordan, where’d you even get an Enderdragon… uh, what’s the baby version called?”

 

Jordan shakes his head. “Her name’s Polaris – and I guess she’s Ianite’s Guardian? Dec said she was a present, but Lara and Jace showed up this morning looking for a Guardian, so…” He shrugs. Polaris grumbles as her perch is moved. “I guess that this is her,” he adds.

 

“ _She’s a Guardian?_ ” Tom chokes out, ducking even further down when Polaris lets out a low, threatening growl.

 

Tucker laughs. “Ha! You know what, Tom? Maybe you shouldn’t brag about killing Ianite’s pet. Not to mention, you work for the guy who kept her boss in a cell and nearly destroyed Ianite’s home. Maybe this’ll teach you not to start things.”

 

Tom mumbles something and then risks peering out over the stone. “Shut up, Tucker,” he snaps. He sighs and shrugs his shoulders, “Look, I’m sorry, okay? But, to be fair, _someone_ would’ve killed the old Enderdragon. It just happened to be me.”

 

“No one blames you, Tom,” Jordan interjects.

 

Sonja nods and adds confidently, “I think she’s just angry that you burnt down Jordan’s tree.”

 

“I helped fix it, though,” Tom points out, “and it was for a good cause!”

 

“That’s arguable,” Tucker accuses.

 

Tom rolls his eyes. Jordan knows that they have had the argument about the tree many times and that Tom is either too stubborn to understand why it was a wrong decision, or he is just trying to rile them all now. It is an argument that has grown tiresome; it is not one Jordan wants to entertain again.

 

“Hey,” Tom calls after a moment. “Dragon-breath, can I get out now without you attempting to kill me?”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Jordan notices Polaris lift her head. She is silent for a few seconds. Jordan thinks that she must be considering whether or not Tom is worth her effort is chasing down again. When her few seconds pass, a purr rumbles out from her chest. She settles her head back down on Jordan’s shoulder, eyes slipping closed.

 

Tom waits. “Is that a ‘yes’, then?”

 

Jordan nods. “It sounds like a ‘yes’.”

 

Hesitantly, Tom removes the last piece of stone brick that has blocked Polaris from attacking him – although, Jordan supposes that she could have simply leapt over the stone after the top had been removed. When he deems it safe enough, Tom steps out of the mock-safety of his tower entrance. He steps closer to Jordan, almost daringly, but Polaris does little more than open one eye at him. Instead, she nuzzles closer to Jordan’s neck, tail wrapping around his throat loosely.


	6. In the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, she doesn’t think. All her existence, she’d scolded Jace for his rash decisions and taunted him about how his choices weren’t recklessly for the better, but irrationally decided in a heat-of-the-moment. And here she is – dying because of a mindless choice she’s made to try and save him from his own Creator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. Cursing (f-word used multiple times; calling a character a 'female dog').

In the end, she doesn’t think.

 

It’s laughable, really. All her existence, she’d scolded Jace for his rash decisions and taunted him about how his choices weren’t recklessly for the better, but irrationally decided in a heat-of-the-moment. She’d never let up about it. She’d always reminded the Dianite spawn of his poor choices and behavior.

 

And here she is – dying because of a mindless choice she’s made to try and save him from his own Creator.

 

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the blade running her belly through is enchanted. Surprisingly, Dianite doesn’t have a fire aspect enchantment on it; it only has smite and strength. The most basic of enchantments; the most deadly, even at their weakest, for a creature created by either god.

 

She can hear Tucker and Sonja screaming in anger and horror. Jordan is fumbling over his words, and all he can seem to get out is _what!_ Thomas and Nade are silent, although their silence doesn’t feel like it’s in appreciation of the Mianite creature dying in front of them to their god; their silence is too somber for bloodlust. The others might be around, but she can’t hear them. Tony and John and Declan are all absent of sound, leading her to believe they’re missing.

 

Dianite might be saying something, too, but she can’t make out the words well enough past the hammering of her heartbeat in her ears.

 

The only one she’s interested in – the only one whose voice she wants desperately to hear – is lying on the ground behind her. She can feel the Dianite spawn’s eyes boring holes into her lower back, eyeing down the sword sticking out of her. She’s certain that Jace is absolutely mortified that she would ever bother to try and save him.

 

Maybe he’s forgotten, but she remembers.

 

She remembers them growing up, playing together, long before anyone ever stumbled upon their realm. She remembers Mianite. Dianite, and Ianite being siblings and not contesting forces. She remembers things being safe and happy.

 

Most of all, she remembers how she and Jace have never once attacked each other. She remembers it being a game – how it has always been a game – and they have never left it behind. Even during the Purging, they have found one another; they have taken shelter together.

 

They have always been together in peace.

 

She hits the ground before she realizes that the sword has been dislodged. Her limbs are too weak to push her back to her feet and her wings are too damaged to be of any use in getting away. She lays on her side and gives Jace a glance, pleading with him to flee even after Dianite has gone.

 

“Lara,” Tucker hollers, moving forward.

 

She hears swords clang and hears Tucker nearly snarl in anger. “Move out of the way, Tom! She’s hurt!”

 

“Are you fucking blind, Tucker?” Thomas demands, “She’s fucking dying.”

 

“And what? You think we’ll let _you_ have the weapon?”

 

“It’s not about the damn weapon, mate!”

 

Lara blocks out Thomas and Tucker’s arguing when Jace crawls forward and scoops her up carefully. It hurts. It feels like she’s being ripped in two pieces, but she doesn’t dare to let on to him that he’s only hurting her. Jace is so strange, and only now does she realize that the Dianite spawn is surprisingly fragile.

 

“D—Don’t leave me,” Jace begs in a low voice. “Don’t leave me. I need you.”

 

“Jace,” she says, scolds, sighs. It’s all the same now. The same condescending tone she’s always used with him – it’s still only half-hearted. “Don’t be stupid, devil.”

 

“Don’t be bitchy, angel,” he tries to joke in return. A sob racks his frame and his head falls down onto her chest as he clings desperately to her.

 

“You’re… a good person, Jace,” she tells him, “don’t… don’t let Dianite ruin that.”

 

“I—I will. I will, if you leave me. I’ll kill everyone who stands in his way, just because I can. They’ll be dead before the Purge.”

 

“No, you won’t. You’re too nice.”

 

“I… I will, though…”

 

Lara wills herself to have the strength to reach up and brush her fingers through Jace’s dark hair. She hums at him. Jace won’t hurt anyone. He doesn’t have the heart to do it.

 

“You chose me,” Jace mumbles, “even when… even when I didn’t deserve it. You chose me.”

 

“I only had a moment to think,” she half-lies.

 

“You didn’t think, though,” he says.

 

She kisses the side of his head. “I did,” she insists softly, “I thought about how much… I would miss you… if you were gone. A world without you in it isn’t a world I want to live in.”

 

He pulls her tighter and she barely manages not to scream. “Centuries without you aren’t worth it.”

 


	7. The Station of Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first AU in the one-shot story!
> 
> Inspired by certain lines in a song. The entire thing is kind of up to reader interpretation, but if you want to know what I was thinking when I wrote it, send me a message or leave a comment and I'll tell you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> A mention of death. Tell me if you notice any others.

“Welcome to the Station of Dreams!”

 

Her first thought, when she opens her eyes, is that it must be a very, very odd, very vivid dream caused by drinking hot chocolate before she’d gone to bed. Standing over her, dressed in the garb she can only think to describe as a cloak with the hood down, is a young man. He’s perhaps a year younger than herself – maybe two – but he seems mature for his age. Wise. His blue eyes sparkle with both mischief and knowledge, and that is a sight worrisomely intriguing to her.

 

His grin is wide. Inviting, like sickeningly sweet honey, and probably as warm as freshly baked cookies. The hand he holds out to her is quickly taken, without either thought or protest. She’s tugged up onto her feet by the young man. He sweeps her around, twirling her away and then closer.

 

“What’s your name?” He asks.

 

“Lara,” she answers.

 

He laughs, and oh, doesn’t it sound like music. It reminds her of a carnival she’d once gone to with Jace. Her brother had been eager to see the animals and acrobats and tamers of all kinds. She instinctively laughs along. In spite of not knowing this man, it feels natural to laugh with him. It makes her feel warm.

 

The man twirls her around to face him, sweeping to his knees in one graceful motion. “My name is Jay,” he informs, kissing the top of her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lara. I hope you’ll stay with me for a bit.”

 

She smiles. “I’m flattered. I suppose I could stay. I’m not sure where else I’d go.”

 

His expression is one of pure delight as he stands, still holding her hand, and pulls her along at his side through the Station of Dreams. The entire area is full of warm, earthy greens and browns. Honey-colored orange dances across the sky in what may very well be an eternal sunset, mixing with pinks and soft purples. She’s reminded of autumn during her childhood and smiles fondly.

 

“So, what is this place?” She asks. “This… Station of Dreams. What is it?”

 

“It’s a place where all of your wishes come true. Anything you could possibly dream, it’s right here,” he answers. “Go ahead. Think of something.”

 

She’s flustered for a moment, unable to think of a single dream she’s had in the past. Her mouth opens and closes fruitlessly. Jay glances at her with a playful expectance, leaving her to feel mildly ashamed that she can’t call up a single thing to show him. Just as her eyes start to burn from forming tears of embarrassment, she hears a low, long meow.

 

Jay laughs and bends at his knees, returning upright with a black cat in his arms. “Well, hello there,” he greets as he rubs underneath the cat’s chin, fingers moving just above the collar. He tosses Lara a sly look. “A cat?”

 

Lara immediately recognizes the collar. It’s a plain brown collar, save for a pink jewel in the center. The gem is twisted. Contorted into a strange, familiar shape that Jace had joked once looked like a dragon’s head. Both she and Jace had been delighted upon finding the collar because it had been a joke between them that their cat was no ordinary cat. Polaris was a mighty dragon. A mighty dragon who had run away years ago, left presumed dead in the back of her mind.

 

She reaches out for the cat and Jay hands it over easily enough. Polaris lets out a soft, rolling murmur as Lara pulls her close. Lara presses her nose into the cat’s fur and smells the odd, smoky scent that Polaris had always carried. The cat had constantly been lying around near the woodstove in the house, and her fur had always soaked in the smell of recently burnt oak and birch.

 

“She ran away,” Lara informs Jay quietly, “a few years ago. My brother and I were worried sick about her. He insisted upon putting up posters and going door-to-door, but no one’d seen her. I’d finally started to consider the worst.”

 

Jay offers a sympathetic smile. “Well, she’s here. Like I said – anything you wish. Consider it my command, Lara.” He bows. The notion seems so childish and playful, and when he stands up straight again his eyes are glinting. “For so long as you’re here.”

 

She nods and sets Polaris carefully on the ground. The cat rubs up against her leg, tail circling briefly along her ankle, before racing off ahead. Jay, seemingly taking this for a challenge, grabs Lara’s hand and pulls her along behind him as he chases after the cat. Lara laughs as she tries to keep on her feet. Keeping up with him is no easy feat, but she manages to do it.

 

Time passes. Lara’s unsure how much actually does while she and Jay play chase with Polaris and run through the thickening forest. The trees are a beautiful mesh of orange, red, brown, and yellow. After some while, the sky is viewless through the heavy, dense leaves, but it doesn’t lessen the beauty. The forest floor isn’t dark, but dimmed, and looks perhaps twice as beautiful as it had fully- and partially-lit.

 

She laughs, releasing Jay’s hand. Lara lets herself fall backwards onto the ground. “This is gorgeous,” she compliments, looking up at the leaves. Her eyes trail over the mixture of colors, allowing her to notice the reds are the brightest and most common to show themselves.

 

“It’s pretty nice,” Jay agrees, sitting next to her. Lara glances over at him, meeting his eyes briefly. “Why fall, though?” He asks.

 

She shrugs. “I thought it was the Station,” she admits.

 

He shakes his head, looking up at the leaves. “This place is what you make it. Most people don’t make it so… colorful. Most make it dull and boring.”

 

Polaris trots over to him and nuzzles her head into the palm of his hand. Jay offers a smile and a laugh towards the cat before he starts petting her.

 

“Lara, don’t get too comfy here,” he warns, “you only visit this place once.”

 

“Once? But…” She frowns. “That’s sad. What about you?”

 

“I live here,” he answers automatically. After a moment, he makes a noise. “Actually, I don’t. I live in this… dimension, but it changes. With every new person who enters it, it becomes something different.”

 

“You don’t get to have any friends, though.”

 

“I get to meet new people all the time. I don’t need friends.”

 

“You should have one. We could be friends.”

 

He shakes his head again. “No, we can’t. You’ll have to leave soon. There’s people waiting for you, and they’re impatient.”

 

Lara opens and closes her mouth a few times before settling with it closed. She will need to wake up soon. She and Jace are supposed to be going to a fair in the morning. Her brother has never been one to be necessarily calm when he’s eager about something; although she loves him, he often annoys her. She wonders, suddenly, whether or not Jace is enjoying his dreams, or sleep-walking as he does when his mind is stressed. He’d not slept well the few nights before, and it worries her. Her younger brother, so tired and frustrated, instead of his usual perky, chipper self.

 

She snaps back to her current reality when Jay makes a sound. “You shouldn’t be so anxious,” he teases. “Being so serious all the time will lead to a heart attack.”

 

“My brother says the same thing,” she admits, “but ever since our uncle died, I’ve kind of been taking care of him.”

 

Jay gives her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry,” he offers.

 

She offers back a half-hearted shrug. “I’ve adjusted. He hasn’t, though.”

 

He nods, opening his mouth to say something. Lara waits patiently, glancing over at him. Whatever he says is drowned out by the shrill sound of a horn. Lara frowns, trying to read his lips. It’s not a task she’s particularly good at, especially not when she’s never found the need to learn. Jace talks so loudly that it’s nearly impossible to miss his voice.

 

When the horn begins to drone out, Lara feels her eyelids beginning to slip closed. Jay looks sadly over at her. “Goodnight, Miss Lara,” he says as her consciousness starts to fade. “I hope your time here was fun.”


	8. Precious Treasures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polaris isn’t sure when the rumor gets started that Enderdragons sleep on a mound of gems and jewels and all-around shiny objects.
> 
> Of course, she’d deny it if asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None.

Polaris isn’t sure when the rumor gets started that Enderdragons sleep on a mound of gems and jewels and all-around shiny objects.

 

Of course, she’d deny it if asked. She doesn’t sleep on diamonds and emeralds, or gold and iron. Those are just too hard to sleep on. They scratch up her belly and leave her writhing in pain with every step she takes the next day because the scales covering her stomach are just too thin for it to be comfortable. She’d tried it once, just to make a point to Tom and Tucker, who’d been betting whether or not she could – and Tucker had won with the claim that she wouldn’t like it.

 

That’s not, however, to say that Polaris doesn’t _like_ the shiny things. As a hatchling, she’d stolen half of Jordan’s diamonds after every strip-mining venture. He’d never known that it was her – he’d actually blamed it on Tom, which amused her – but she’d never given them back. They’re still under the first floor of the tree, hidden away in her secret stash of “things that are mine”. No one knows it exists, save perhaps for the Wizards.

 

But the Wizards are good enough to keep their mouths shut.

 

Perhaps they’re a bit afraid of having to deal with a full-grown Enderdragon attempting to raid their builds?

 

She doesn’t mind it all that much if they are. It just means her stash of shiny things is safe yet another day.

 

As time goes on, more rumors begin to bloom – no doubt made by Tom.

 

Enderdragons eat their riches?

 

No. Polaris has never _tried that_ , but she doesn’t assume that it would feel very good. She thinks it would be like be like trying to swallow swords, having all of the pointy, sharp sides of the diamonds and emeralds running down her throat. It doesn’t sound like it would be an enjoyable experience. She doesn’t even take up the bet in fear of suffering through more pain.

 

Enderdragons melt their riches?

 

No. That would remove all of the shininess, if everything got melted into one giant puddle. It would also make it very difficult to enjoy the different colors – greens and blues and golds and silvers. They would all just mesh into one strange amalgamation, which probably would not be a very flattering shade.

 

Shiny things are the only riches to an Enderdragon?

 

 

No. No. No.

 

That’s Polaris’ largest qualm with the rumors. Certainly, the shiny jewels are nice – and getting new ones is always an enjoyable gift – but the gems are near worthless in comparison to other things. The gems are only favorable because she can _own_ those and hide them away from greedy hands that might try to steal them.

 

People aren’t like her stash of shiny things.

 

She can’t grab a person and hide them underneath the first floor of the tree. Well, she could, but it would be horribly rude.

 

People aren’t meant to be owned; they aren’t meant to be shoved in a stash and never let free. She can be protective of people – no one will mess with someone who is the treasure of an Enderdragon – but she doesn’t _command them_.

 

She can protect Jordan from the evils of the world; she can protect her friends and her family from the horrible, horrible things that exist. She can snap and bite, growl and snarl, when she feels like they’ve been threatened. It’s okay to do that.

 

It’s not okay to steal them.

 

To kidnap them.

 

To _own_ them.

 

But, still…

 

The people she loves?

 

They’re her most precious treasures.

 

They’re the treasures she can sit and observe with the calmest smile. They’re the treasures she can interact with and be the happiest because of. Her family and her friends are so much more precious than any jewel or gem that she’s stolen or been given, and it’s because of that fact that she enjoys being around them.

 

She knows that people are different than shiny things.

 

But they’re still just as wonderful.


	9. The Witch and the Wolf - ToS AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Ever heard of a game called Town of Salem? Well, to put things short: ToS is a game where you play as a certain ‘class’ and you have to either kill people or just survive. I’ve recently been watching a lot of ToS games on YouTube and did a bit of research for what type of classes might work well for certain things – and this has been something I’ve been thinking of for a while (sorry I haven’t updated; comp’s been a pain and school work). In ToS, there’s a Witch and a Werewolf, and the thing is: The Witch can visit a Werewolf that chooses to stay home, and she/he won’t get killed. So I kind of drabbled a bit in the ToS-verse with the GoM characters. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Violence (non-graphic, brief details)  
> Minor reference of death, but non-detailed

If you had asked the Town, a long while ago, how to tame a Werewolf, they would’ve looked at you funny. No one could _tame_ the Wolf. It was a murderous beast that would go on a rampage every other night, and had once even nearly wiped the Town clean in the matter of a week before the Mafia stepped in and helped to execute the last one. In the eyes of the Town, it was unfortunate that a new Werewolf had been born; in the eyes of the Wolf, it was horrible to be shunned for simply existing.

 

It was how Jay had found himself, night after night, doing his best to lock his door fast. His efforts, however, were for naught, as every other night, another in the Town lay dead. The body was dragged into the square, as though placed proudly on display – with claw marks and teeth marks – like a pet might do for an owner. Like the Town, Jay found that even he lacked the ability to look at the sight. Despite his best attempts, his fingers and palms would be wet with blood in the morning. His jaw would be painted red. He couldn’t even find a prayer to defend himself.

 

The Mafia was what fought to keep him alive. Unlike his predecessor, Jay had fortunate connections with the brotherhood. His grandfather was one of the upstanding members – one of two claimed Godfathers – and both he and the other Godfather attempted to secure Jay’s safety. Blackmailers were sent out to keep any unwanted parties from speaking of the events; Framers, Janitors, and Cleaners all worked to put up a line of defense by disposing of the evidence as best they could and changing things so it appeared another was guilty. Whether or not the Town truly believed the efforts, no one elected to kill Jay. The Mafia had done their part – and Jay couldn’t do his.

 

One night, he’d forgotten to lock his door. He wasn’t sure what had been so important to him that he had forgotten – perhaps, even, the moon had found her place in the sky sooner than usual – but he had realized too late that his door could easily be nudged open. Very few would stand a chance against him – and almost all would die with him if they tried. Desperate to keep himself and others safe, he attempted as best he could to root himself to where he was standing in the center of his room, even as footsteps echoed in his newly sensitive ears from passersby.

 

Fate, however, was not on his side. His door was opened by someone – who, he didn’t know, would be stupid enough to enter the home of a known Werewolf? Even so, someone took quiet, slow steps into his house, proceeding into his room. When the door opened, he braced himself. He slammed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the face of yet another victim.

 

But nothing occurred.

 

After a hesitant moment, he opened one eye, spotting a blonde, female figure idly looking about the contents of the bedroom. Jay knew his room was bare, with nothing but a bed and a lantern in it. He’d never had the confidence or the time to seek out personalization. What even would a Werewolf have in his room? Souvenirs that he’d stolen from the homes – or bodies – of his victims? A bone, perhaps?

 

“Well, this is rather odd. Not at all as I expected when I was asked to look for you,” the woman mused, although Jay believed it was mostly to herself.

 

“Who are you?” He asked.

 

“Lara. I’m the Witch.”

 

“A Witch? What does a Witch do?”

 

“We control people. We can make them do whatever we want – be it save or kill. Protect or destroy. Or…”

 

“Or?”

 

“Do nothing at all.”

 

The smile she gave him was surprisingly gentle. For someone who had just declared manipulative abilities so vast that she could probably make him even rip himself apart with his claws and teeth, she seemed surprisingly sweet. Not at all fitting of her role description.

 

He growled, mostly for the show of being dangerous. “And I suppose you’re here to get me to kill someone.”

 

Lara shook her head. “No. I’m here to help you,” she promised. “I don’t have any reason to want anyone in the Town dead, including you. If you’d let me, I’d like to visit you during full moons. I could prevent you from attacking others, so long as you promise me that you will never leave when I come to visit you.”

 

Jay offered her a contemplative glance. As nice as it sounded, he was hardly sure it would work. What if someone visited him other than Lara? What if someone was to try and attack him? Would he not be able to defend himself?

 

“I could kill you right now,” he warned.

 

“You could try,” she agreed, “and I could stop you. Werewolf, we could both kill one another. Why don’t we help each other instead?”

 

“Jay. My name’s Jay. Don’t call me ‘Werewolf’,” he growled.

 

Lara nodded. As simple as that, she never called him Werewolf again. As simple as that, he found himself agreeing to the little Witch’s plan.

 

Hesitantly, he sat down on his bed and gestured toward the only other real piece of furniture he owned – a chair across the room from himself, next to a wooden table that was always off-balance because one of the legs was shorter than the others. She gratefully took a seat, glancing still around the room.

 

When the Witch’s eyes met his again, they flashed gold. Jay’s instinctive reaction was to pull away and attack, but his limbs felt heavy, as though they were asleep. It was not an uncomfortable feeling – in fact, it was oddly soothing, to not feel as though he wanted to or had to attack her. The strange understanding of what she had done settled over him. She had just placed a calm over him, without threat or harm. There was nothing she had done that meant to be cruel.

 

By the time morning rose, Jay had dozed off to sleep on his bed, soothed by the foreign calm. Over the next few months, that calm became familiar and almost expected. As soon as the Witch would enter his home on the night of the full moon, her eyes would flash and his limbs would relax.

 

No murders – outside of those led by the Mafia or the rare Serial Killer – occurred. Jay found himself waking up unafraid that he would be shot the next night or lynched during the day. People would come up to him during the day without worry that he would snap at them. During the nights, even, people visited him without fear.

 

Nearly a year into Jay’s peaceful nights, the Witch had become a constant, visiting even on nights and during the day when there was no need for her to see him. Their agreement continued to stand, and as time went on, the Witch and Wolf were well-known for being in the company of one another more frequently than they were separated. If someone sought out Lara, they went to Jay; on the occasion that someone wished to speak with Jay, they searched for Lara. Jay found himself warming up to the Witch, and soon it took not even her ability to sway him into a pleasant, submissive state during the full moon. All it took to calm him was the little Witch resting close to him, with his nose pressed into the curve of her neck and her tight in his arms.

 

Of course, however, peace could not last a lifetime.

 

Not for a Wolf, and not for a Witch.


	10. Left the Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...I don't really want to talk about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> Character feeling abandoned  
> Swearing

**JReality has left the chat.**

_“Huh? Oh… you left. I guess those computer issues really are kicking your butt. I’ll hang out a bit longer in case you come back on. If not, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. G’night!”_

Lara waits another few hours. Recently, she’s been talking to someone over a chat site, courtesy of boredom and a desire to work things out after the suggestion had come up. She and her friend, Jay, had been talking for a few months, and already, she felt like they’d become close friends. They talked about everything – from personal problems to just random jabs at the other to earn a smile or a laugh – and sometimes the chats lasted all day, or into the wee-hours of the morning.

 

Jay had expressed discouragement that his computer had recently died and the one he was working on had some issues, but promised that he was working to fix things. Lara didn’t mind. Even if he disappeared – which he’d previously done, always with good reason – he would return. Their chats keep them both happy, something they’d both admitted to previously on multiple occasions.

 

When Jay doesn’t return during her waiting hours, Lara brushes it aside.

 

_“Well, I’m going to assume you couldn’t get things on again. I’m going to head to bed. It’s getting late. Talk to you tomorrow, Jay! Sweet dreams.”_

The next morning, she checks the site, frowning a bit when she notices that Jay is missing. It’s not exactly odd that he’s not on early in the morning, so she shoves any discontent aside, deciding to take up her usual routine of checking in and announcing her presence.

 

Only, Jay doesn’t turn up today, either.

 

Or the next day.

 

Or the next day.

 

Or the next.

 

And soon, a week has gone by with no response.

 

Lara idly vents about something, but quickly throws in a long, expansive idea for their current project, as she’d quietly been doing in concerned messages on another site to him. A week is unusual, but he’s done it before. Before today, the longest he’s been gone is fourteen days. After that, she’ll start to panic. After fourteen days, something will have to be wrong. Right?

 

The fourteenth day passes with no Jay, and Lara flinches a bit when she checks in during the night to see only her own username written across the screen, columned down the chat page with her promises to check in, her goodnights, and her joining and leaving the chat. Briefly, she realizes how frightening it is to see such a blank page.

 

She closes out of the chat and switches over to the other page.

 

_“Did I do something? Are you okay? If I did something wrong, just tell me. Please be okay. Please come back. I’m worried about you and I miss you.”_

She sends the message and goes to sleep, hoping that her fears will be misplaced.

 

When she wakes up and the day passes, Jay never shows himself on the chat. Once again, days begin to pass and Lara, anxious, continues to send fearful messages, dreading the wonderment of whether or not anyone is able to view them.

 

 _“Why is your icon gone...? Jay? Are you even getting these messages? ...You're not, are you? I did something awful, and I don't even know what it is. And you're mad or disappointed or upset with me. And now, you don't want to talk to me anymore. ...I wish you'd just... tell me what I did,”_ she sends one night.

 

It’s going to be the 200th day or so that they’ve talked. That they’ve been friends. And she has no idea what has happened to make her friend disappear suddenly.

 

But she waits, until two weeks have passed. She signs on to the chat site and retrieves his email, silently grateful for it showing up under the visitor’s list. Her own does, as well, and she’d promised herself previously never to use his email. By the way he acts, it’s just a fake one – or a throw-away one. It doesn’t matter to him.

 

But… maybe, if she emails it and admits once again how afraid she is, he’ll answer it. Or at least see it and sign on.

 

Or, someone else will see it and tell her that he’s de—

 

No. He’s not. He can’t be.

 

He isn’t.

 

_“Hello! Um… I got this email off of a chat site my friend and I talk on. His name is Jay. I… I don’t know if he’ll see this, but it’s been two weeks since we’ve talked and I’m just worried. Is he okay?”_

She clicks send and waits, as she has come to be familiar with doing.

 

And her heart hurts.

 

Another week passes and she spends a few nights crying because she fears for the worst.

 

Another passes and she knows she should celebrate. She’s been asked to present something special to a couple of graduating high school students at their graduation, and it’s quite the honor – but her thoughts turn to a time when she could have shared the news and been happier about it. When she presents the award, it’s the only thing that keeps her mind occupied long enough not to worry. She feels selfish that she doesn’t so much as tear-up when two other scholarship presenters mention the heartfelt, upsetting stories of how their own organizations came into existence.

 

And she waits, and denies her fears. Calls them foolish and tries to laugh them off like it had been so easy to do for the first week. He’s just fixing a computer. It’s just the storms. That’s all. Jay’s fine, and he’ll be back. He always is.

 

And they weren’t fighting prior to him leaving. They weren’t in an argument over anything stupid, like they had been before and agreed to move past – and had, so easily. They had agreed that talking was fun. Their randomness was fun. Their projects were fun.

 

She eyes the books in the corner of her room as she lays in bed that night. They’re books from series that he’d suggested to her. The newest series had just come in the mail a few days ago, and she’d been excited to tell him she’d bought them so they could discuss the books more. The other series, she’s not found the time or energy to read since his disappearance. It’s a shame, honestly – the books are wonderful, but she’s only one through the series of currently six and a few extras, and she wonders whether or not she’ll ever get back to reading them.

 

As she sleeps, she dreams of their chats. She dreams of him coming back on, flustered as he typically is when he’s disappeared suddenly.

 

_“Fuck! The weather’s beating my ass. I’m sorry I was gone for so long, Lara.”_

_“It’s fine.”_

_“So, where were we?”_

When she wakes up in the morning, she wants to cry. It’s not the first time she’s dreamt of their chats – but the majority of the other times have been laughable and brought on by happier moments. Now, dreaming of them, she checks the chat site all day as usual and feels her heart breaking.

 

He’s still gone.

 

And she barely remembers the chat in her dream.

 

Into the first week of the new month – he’s been gone a month now, and she can’t believe it – she checks various different sites for his typical usernames. His gaming account has had its skin changed for what is now the third time during his absence, although she doubts he would change it to a female skin. He’s always seemed content with his typical one. A site she previously found him on still marks the last activity for the date she, herself, had last spoken to him on. Her searches remain unsuccessful.

 

Halfway through the second week, she finds his username on another site. It claims he’d been a user for a short while, and she skims through his recent activity. Her stomach knots and her heart drops as she does, because she recognizes his writing. His tone. His randomness. Jay is on this site.

 

Jay has been on this site since shortly after he disappeared.

 

Laughing about how he lost his email.

 

Joking about some game she can remember him saying he liked, and talking to its creator whom he’d felt sympathy for when she’d been pestered about the game’s release date.

 

She immediately makes an account and messages him, nervously asking whether or not it’s actually him and sending him a link to the chat site. If he’s lost his email, he’s probably lost his account there. And it’s very possible that his computer’s died, so he may have lost the link. She’s just trying to help.

 

And get an explanation as to what happened, and how they can fix it.

 

No response.

 

He hasn’t been on for a couple days.

 

She messages him against after a few more days pass, asking him what she’s done and if she was just too stupid to understand that him lamenting about his computer issues was a sign that he wanted her to leave him alone.

 

No response.

 

He still hasn’t been on.

 

After a couple more days, she notices that he’s come on recently – just a few hours ago. Hopeful that he’ll still be on, she messages him.

 

No response.

 

Frustrated, she makes a last effort to reach out to him through access of a chat. He’s not there, but the person who is offers her kind words and agrees to help. They listen as she explains what’s happened and that he left suddenly almost two months prior, and that she’d like to explain if they could just tell him that she wants to speak to him. They agree to do so, but offer that it doesn’t sound like Jay. She agrees that it doesn’t, lamenting inwardly when she hears that he’s currently in the process of a move and won’t be on for a short while.

 

She leaves that chat and switches back to hers and Jay’s, starring at the page with only her username, wiping tears away.

 

She feels hurt. She feels betrayed. She feels abandoned.

 

It’s been forty-seven days since she’s heard from him.

 

And the last damn thing ever to mention his username on the chat is the stupid, haunting message:

 

**JReality has left the chat.**


	11. Wizardly Mishaps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uh… good morning, Lara,” Waglington greets, “there’s been a bit of a… mishap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Swearing (I don't think so, but I'm also not reviewing it while I write this, so I'll put this to be safe.)  
> Magic

“What’s that?”

 

Lara shakes her head and walks down the hall, pressing a button to open the secret passage between the ground floor and hidden floor of the Mianite temple. Someone is nearby, and as per usual, she can’t have a moment alone with Jay without someone needing her attention for something. As she walks up the stairs and brushes past the now-opened portion of wall near the fountain, she hears Jay following along behind her, just as displeased to have their quiet, relaxing day potentially ruined.

 

When she sees who has come to find her, she’s shocked and, next to her, Jay is nearly doubled-over laughing.

 

“Y-You-You’re kidding,” he manages to gasp. “Is that—?”

 

“Mianite?” Lara asks.

 

Sure enough, now grumbling from his spot behind Waglington’s legs, is Mianite – albeit a much smaller, child-like version than she can ever remember bearing witness to. To his credit, Waglington looks abashed as well. The Wizard shifts back and forth on his feet for a moment, although he remains mindful of the child-formed god standing so close to him.

 

“Uh… good morning, Lara,” Waglington greets, “there’s been a bit of a… mishap.”

 

“I-I…” Lara blinks at the pair in front of her. “Yes, I believe that’s quite clear, Waglington. What occurred, though?”

 

Waglington reaches up, rubbing nervously at his neck. For someone so powerful and usually extremely calm and confident, Lara thinks that he’s certainly acting nervous. With the history the Wizards – and Waglington particularly – have with both she and Jay, she supposes she might understand why he would behave so strangely.

 

“Well, we were testing a new spell and it _might_ have targeted the gods,” he admits, “possibly. Maybe. We’re working currently to reverse it, though – but we can’t babysit while we work. BruteAlmighty and iFirez are already stressed about the spell enough, and having three little ones running around with as much power as they all have isn’t something that would be beneficial, as I’m sure you could understand.”

 

Lara nods, although admittedly, she feels like the words don’t completely offer her much meaning. The Wizards have… messed up a spell? What could they possibly have been doing to have this affect? Absently, she wonders whether or not they weren’t attempt to work on a prank, or if it was some search for the fabled Fountain of Youth that the pirates have joked about.

 

Jay snickers, managing to compose himself for the moment. “So, where’s Dianite and Ianite?” He asks.

 

Waglington offers a small smile, seemingly more confident with the mention of the two other gods. “Jace has Dianite, and Ianite is with Polaris and Jordan.”

 

“Is Ianite well?” Lara asks.

 

“Sleeping, but fine. Dianite was throwing a tantrum about the mishap, and Mianite—” Waglington stops talking briefly, gesturing down at the little god near him, “—handled it a bit better. I still don’t think he’s overjoyed, but that’s not really our concern. We’re not happy, either.”

 

Jay grins. “Well, I think it’s awesome. But… hey, wait. Why do we need to babysit?”

 

Lara shakes her head and walks over to Waglington, kneeling down next to Mianite. “You don’t have to, Jay. Go play with the Mianitees or visit with Jordan and Polaris.”

 

“But we’re supposed to hang out…”

 

“I know, but—”

 

Lara looks up, noticing that Waglington is gone and Mianite is clinging possessively to her, clearly not prepared to let Jay anywhere near her. She sighs. She doubts that any of the gods have lost their proper memories, so Mianite is likely still not fond in the slightest of Jay. Having both of them around seems to be asking for trouble.

 

“Jay, I can’t manage dealing with a fight today, please,” she mumbles.

 

Jay huffs, dropping into a portal with a grumbled _right, Lara._

 

 

Polaris purrs and circles around Ianite. The little goddess is just a bit bigger than she is, but Ianite is fast asleep on a makeshift bed in Jerry’s Tree. Polaris, herself, has only begun to get used to the tree. Jordan has been trying to get her used to it, and she kind of dislikes that he is. Because she knows that it’s his way of telling her she’ll have to get used to sleeping in the tree someday. The tree is lonely, though. There’s only Jerry in it – and all Jerry does is hop around and look at things with his mouth in an ‘O’-shape, constantly surprised at things.

 

But now, Ianite is in the tree, too!

 

She sits down next to Ianite and looks up at Jordan for a moment. The Mianitee is wandering around, walking in circles as he paces back and forth. He keeps wondering if Tom, Tucker, and Sonja have to deal with their gods in a similar state. Polaris doesn’t know why he cares. Ianite is his goddess; Ianite is important, and she’s all that is.

 

Right?

 

Polaris lays down, curling her tail around the little goddess and then rests her wings over the goddess in place of a blanket. Ianite scoots closer to her as Polaris rests her snout carefully atop her creator’s side, huffing contentedly.

 

She never gets to see Ianite.

 

Today, she is.

 

She just wishes Jordan would stop pacing already.

 

 

Jace yelps, darting back and forth to avoid the fireballs being thrown at him. Although they’re tiny and fire doesn’t do anything to him, it’s no more pleasant to feel something crash into him and explode against his skin. It still leaves burn marks, even though they don’t hurt or cause real damage to his skin.

 

Dianite is extremely unhappy. To say he’s upset is probably an understatement. Jace has rarely ever seen Dianite so… fiery over something that’s not something Mianite has done – and it makes Jace loathe whomever caused Dianite to be turned into a little kid. Jace is always Dianite’s punching bag over things like this.

 

“H-Hey,” Jace hollers as clawed fingers just miss closing around his tail. He pumps his wings and flies higher. “ _Hey._ No.”

 

“You don’t tell me ‘no,’ Jace,” Dianite growls.

 

“But that’s attached,” he protests. “It’ll hurt.”

 

“You’re meant to be stronger than that.”

 

“I am. I just don’t like pain still.”

 

Dianite huffs and lets loose another fireball in his direction, which he dives out of the way in order to avoid.


	12. Underlings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You look over at… her (you suppose that is proper; the other is the more feminine of you both). She is toying with something. At first, you fear it may be some poor, innocent little creature that one of the other beings have created. The four of them are always creating things, and your other-half’s boredom is often a thing to be concerned with simply because she finds ‘creative’ ways to entertain herself. Not even a week ago, she was exploring the dangers of causing meteors to crash into the ground. It would seem that was not enough to sate her lull of activity for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Mild (but not graphic) descriptions of an animal suffering through illness/starvation.

You look over at… her (you suppose that is proper; the other is the more feminine of you both). She is toying with something. At first, you fear it may be some poor, innocent little creature that one of the other beings have created. The four of them are always creating things, and your other-half’s boredom is often a thing to be concerned with simply because she finds ‘creative’ ways to entertain herself. Not even a week ago, she was exploring the dangers of causing meteors to crash into the ground. It would seem that was not enough to sate her lull of activity for long.

 

“What are you doing?” You ask finally, after watching for a long while as she twists and turns whatever it is that has claimed her attention so strongly.

 

“Creating things,” she answers, huffing at you. You suppose she believes you should have guessed, or finds it exasperating that you would trouble her for the answer to such a question. “I want one.”

 

You tip your head. “One what?”

 

“An underling. I deserve one,” she responds in the same tone as she had previously. “I deserve many, actually. Why? Can’t I have one?”

 

“I cannot stop you,” you inform neutrally as you turn to observe the other four beings.

 

The eldest two are running around. They are as close as brothers – perhaps brothers-in-arms, although you do hope they never become that way. Begrudgingly trudging along behind them is the youngest of the four, somehow burning like fire despite his recent foul mood. You wonder if, perhaps, he is only angry because one of the other two males has taken an interest in – and had interest taken in him – by the only female in their group. He has always wanted what his elder counterparts have had, and it would not be unlike the youngest of them to desire claim over the goddess for the sheer desire to keep from his acquaintances what one of them holds dear.

 

You sigh. They exhaust you. It is because of that reason that you – and your other-half – entertain only the company of the ever-neutral goddess. Today, though, she is with her friends, enjoying the world that has been created while yourself and your other-half monitor over the others. You are only capable of handling the mannerisms and behaviors of the other three beings for so long, and today, with how your other-half is behaving, you do not feel up to the task.

 

After a moment, your other-half sidles up to you, holding in her hands three small balls of gray-silver energy. “There,” she says proudly, “Are there any gifts you would like to bestow before I allow them to create the forms they choose?”

 

“What will they be?” You ask.

 

She shakes her head and looks down at the spheres. The orbs shift and swirl in her palms, somehow both anxious and relaxed. You wonder if this will become a trend for her – if she will desire creating things as often as the others do.

 

Deciding you have kept her waiting long enough that her thin patience will allow (and yes, her glare is a telling sign that she is about to act rashly, you know that, thank you, other-half), you shake your head. “We shall see what they choose. If I feel necessary, I will add what I see fit to ensure they are capable of their chosen tasks.”

 

“So may I—?”

 

“Yes, you may.”

 

She grins at you and then blows on the spheres, watching as the three are sent out of her palms. The energy floats for a short while in the air before settling towards the ground – if an invisible floor in the realm can even be called ground. The orbs separate from one another, stretching and growing to form three women, all of whom look to you very wise. Clearly, your other-half has passed on knowledge to her creations.

 

“Hello,” you greet.

 

The three creations stare at you for a moment before the one in the center of the trio offers, “Hello.”

 

You smile kindly at them, while your other-half gladly dances around the three, looking over their desired forms. One follows her with its eyes, turning on its heel to keep up as she bounds in circles around them. Another turns its attention to you. The last of the trio – the one whom had spoken – reaches out and catches your other-half carefully by her arm, ceasing her restless observation.

 

“What’s wrong?” The creation asks.

 

“Hm… nothing,” she answers as she gently pulls her hand away.

 

She waits a moment before turning away from the three, another ball of energy swirling into being in the center of her palm as she works to fashion it into something as well. You sigh. As happy as you know she is to have her new creations, your other-half has never been one to settle with anything. For everything she creates, she longs for more. At some point, you will have to ask her to stop, lest she continue to create until the realms are overcrowded and overpopulated.

 

You let her fashion the next creation – a male – and then quietly stifle her creative flow by suggesting she allow the other beings time to meet her brood. Even so, you believe that the women look more to you for guidance, as they oblige your other-half, but do not seem to fancy her wild-eyed, excitable suggestions for purpose. Her male creation, however, seems prepared to scheme with her.

 

“What are we to do?” One of the three females quiz you suddenly.

 

“What do you wish?” You ask. “Your purpose is yours.”

 

“Do you require anything?” The one who had trailed your other-half with her gaze inquires.

 

You hum for a moment, glancing back down at the other beings in the realms. There are creatures there that they have created – ones who seem so old that their bodies have begun to suffer and give to endless disease. They are in pain.

 

“Perhaps you could end their suffering,” you suggest, gesturing to one particular creature that looks like it would like to die. The creature is no longer eating; it has starved itself to the point that its bones have begun to show through its taut skin and muscle. Its eyes are pale and its cries have become raspy and worn. It is in so much pain, and living longer will only leave it to more.

 

The three women nod at you. “May we monitor the lifespan of these creatures? May we decide an appropriate length of time for them to live, so they do not suffer this fate again?”

 

You nod at them. “We would appreciate that very much if you would. One of you can track their beginnings, another their lifespan, and the last, their death.”

 

The three vanish, off to complete the task you have given them. It is now their purpose for existence. They will do well at it. With them, no creature will suffer through its body deteriorating and leaving it to live painfully. You are certain some may question your choice of wording to the three, but watching so many creatures be so visibly miserable and unwell has been upsetting you for some time. Where life exists, so must death. It is a lesson that you all understand by now.

 

Your other-half bounds over with the male, who disappears from her side with a sly grin. “Where has he gone?” You question.

 

“I’ve sent him off to complete a job for me. You always hassle me about those worlds with magic and other enchanted arts. I believe he will do wonderfully at keeping magic stable,” she tells you.

 

You nod. “How about a game?”

 

“A game?”

 

“Yes. The goddess has been playing with me. She calls it ‘chess.’ Would you like to learn?”

 

“Chess? I suppose. Let’s play.”

 

It is then that you sit down at a table conjured up with a wave of your hand. The same chess board you have used – one so crudely put together and painted – appears atop the table. Ten pieces flicker to life – five black and five white. You resist the urge to question the pieces. When you and the goddess had played, there had been five pieces and you had set one aside each time. You brush aside the strange happenstance and watch as your other-half lays claim to the black pieces. You claim the white, showing her how to line them out along the board.

 

It is there that the two of you sit for eons.

 

It is there that you will sit for eternity, locked in an eternal battle of chess with pieces and victories changing before your very eyes.

 

It never ceases to amaze you.


	13. The Prior Guardian of Ianite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first thing you’re aware of is the dark. (Over the course of your life, the dark will become a familiar, friendly companion, but for the moment, it is foreign and strange.) You are aware that there is more – of course there is – but it is no abundantly clear to you, and it is not immediately important. The sky is dark, and you search it with your eyes for anything of interest. There is nothing there to see. In the vast emptiness, you find yourself alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Minor violence

The first thing you’re aware of is the dark. (Over the course of your life, the dark will become a familiar, friendly companion, but for the moment, it is foreign and strange.) You are aware that there is more – of course there is – but it is no abundantly clear to you, and it is not immediately important. The sky is dark, and you search it with your eyes for anything of interest. There is nothing there to see. In the vast emptiness, you find yourself alone.

 

Only, you are not as alone as you may seem.

 

A woman scoops you up and you glance at her. Her eyes – green and purple, colors you somehow understand – are so kind and loving. Her expression is one of a motherly smile that makes something bubble in your chest. Positivity. Love. Care. Happiness? You can feel her energy pooling through her veins and the blood being pumped throughout her body by her heart. She is so wonderful and so much _yours_ that you vow never to let this woman from your side.

 

Soon after she creates you, she introduces you to her other creations. These new things walk around on two legs, chittering and clicking in wonder about you. Despite not knowing them, and not knowing their language, the words translate themselves for you.

 

_Creator, what is this?_

_It is not like us._

_But it feels like us._

_We will protect it, if you ask._

_It will be safe._

_It is one of ours now._

_It is family._

You try a few times to echo their chattering voices, but yours is harsher. You words come out in growls, rather than in the hushed burbles that theirs do. They do not seem offended that you make an attempt. They encourage you to continue.

 

 _Try again,_ they say, _you will learn our tongue. We will give you time. We will help you, Sister._

You do as they request, listening as _your lady_ talks with others of their kind. As you try and copy your brothers, she runs her hands down your spine. You purr momentarily before continuing with your siblings until you manage to say _Hello, brothers._

 

Your brothers are so pleased with you, and your lady is happy.

 

The world is still dark, but there is clearly light in it. 

* * *

 

Your first trip to the Overworld (you’ve learned, recently, that your home is called the End, and your lady’s name is Ianite) is filled with new sights, smells, sounds, and feelings. Everything is new to you. There are flowers and trees, wind and water (the latter you quickly learn _hurts you_ ), and all kinds of different creatures to observe. Things that moo; things that baa; things that oink, and so many other sounds.

 

It’s in the middle of inspecting a tree and climbing to the top of it that you spot a little girl and a little boy. The girl is glancing around, inspecting things as you have been for hours, and the boy is at her heels. He has his hand in one of hers. Behind him is something that flicks occasionally, and two, small bat-like wings. The girl, similarly, has wings; however, hers are larger, fluffier, and pure white.

 

 _Hello,_ you call over to them in the language your brothers have taught you. You have gotten better at speaking it; you can form proper sentences now. _Who are you?_

They hear you, but the only response you garner is a curious look in your direction as they slowly make their way over to where you and your lady are visiting. As they near, you hop from your perch in the tree, gliding down to the ground to meet them. You stop at your lady’s feet.

 

“Lady Ianite,” the little girl greets. “Good morning.”

 

“Good morning, Lara,” Ianite returns. “Good morning, Jace.”

 

“G’morning, Lady Ianite,” the boy says. He points at you. “What’s that?”

 

Your lady smiles at you and then at the two children. “This is Syrreth. She is my Guardian, like you both are Mianite and Dianite’s Guardians. She is an Enderdragon.”

 

Jace grins and bends to put himself at your height. He offers you his hand and you hesitantly place your front foot in his. Like you, Jace has claws. They aren’t as sharp as yours, but they exist. One glance at Jace’s female companion informs you that, unlike him, she lacks claws. She also lacks the sharpened teeth that Jace shows when he offers you a bit wider of a grin. His teeth are not as sharp as yours, either, but they are there.

 

 _Hello, Jace,_ you say.

 

He tips his head at you. “You talk like the endermen do.”

 

“Our apologies, Syrreth. We do not speak like they do,” Lara offers to you, “their language is not one we are able to understand.”

 

Your lady sends you an apologetic look, but you try not to be disheartened. At least you have your brothers to keep you company, and your lady.

 

“We were about to go play tag, though,” Jace informs, “do you want to play, Syrreth? Lara’s going to be it. All you have to do is avoid her catching you.”

 

You bounce on your feet.

 

Even if they can’t speak your brothers’ tongue, they will quickly become your closest friends.

* * *

 

“Ianite, he has overstepped his bounds!”

 

“Mianite, you are overreacting. You have created many new laws and have not informed him of them. He has all right to react as poorly to being accused as he had. How could he have known of the crime he had committed, if he was unaware it was a crime?”

 

“Sister, listen—”

 

“You know I will support you, Brother. But not if your actions are not without guilt in themselves. You chose not to make him privy to your rules, and he broke one without knowing of its existence. You have none to blame but yourself.”

 

You lift your head.

 

It’s that god again – Mianite. He has come complaining to your lady of another one of the gods. The other god is nicer to you. You often fly around in your realm in wind up in his. He always offers you a polite smile and a pat on the head. You enjoy that god’s company very much.

 

But recently, he has been put under fire by Mianite. Laws declaring outcast to his creations have been put into place, with no vote allowed to be made against them. Your lady has lamented the rules. Days prior, she had lamented the other god’s punishment for breaking those rules when he had not been given the chance to hear of them. Your lady had; her other brother, Dianite, had.

 

You find Mianite’s behavior to be unfair.

 

It seems to come as no surprise to your lady when you blow fire at the prideful god.

 

It seems to come as no surprise when he leaves with uncharred skin, either.

* * *

 

When you get injured, your lady creates crystals. The crystals glow, drawing you to move closer to them and inspect them. As you do, a beam of pink light bursts out from them, directing itself at you. The beam is warm, but not overly so. It washes over you and leaves you feeling refreshed and healed.

 

As you bask in the glory of your new gift, you turn to look at your lady. She is talking with a woman very similar to herself. The woman is still different, though. She shares only some of the same energy and her appearance is different. Dark hair; rust-red eyes; a long, dark gown. She is beautiful, though, and her voice is as kind as your lady’s is.

 

 _Who is she?_ You ask one of your brothers. He has just come from near the two goddesses.

 

 _Creator calls her Jinx,_ he answers. _She is a gift to the God of the Void. Creator wishes for peace. She wishes for Jinx to bring peace._

_Peace?_ You repeat.

 

 _Yes. Creator fears war may break out between the stubborn god and the God of the Void,_ he replies. _That would end poorly for all involved._

You nod and turn your attention away from your brother, gliding from the obsidian pillar you are resting upon. You land next to another crystal. Although the same pink beam shoots out at you, it does little but warm your body as you listen to your brothers continue to speak of Jinx. 

* * *

 

Everything moves too fast for you.

 

Jinx leaves the God of the Void. You understand why – she doesn’t care for him the way he desires her to; she has fallen in love with another. The God of the Void, however, takes it as a form of the highest betrayal and soon, he creates something like her. It is not long before Jinx is gone. Before the god you have come to like is locked away permanently.

 

Before your lady is taken as payment for the loss of Jinx.

 

You are alone, save for your brothers. They attempt to comfort you. They tell you she will be returned, because Dianite is not one to start a war over a broken heart.

 

But Dianite makes it clear to everyone that he is not interested in returning your lady to you. He wipes Jace’s memory completely of her and of you, and Lara is left with just enough that she feels the loss of your lady. They never visit you, as they had many times in the past.

 

They will never again.

 

It is the first of many centuries you will spend alone.

 

And the last time you will ever have seen your lady.

* * *

 

You don’t care.

 

Not anymore.

 

Centuries have passed; _eons_ have passed.

 

Your brothers have not been enough for you for so long now, and your loneliness has caused your empathy to tear itself apart. No one cares enough to visit you, so why should you them? Your home has been locked away in some stronghold buried under the ground. You have not only been left to yourself; you have been excommunicated.

 

So when someone enters the End after _eons_ of being alone, you lunge at him, intent on ending his miserable little existence. You will show him oblivion. You will steal him from his friends just as your lady has been stolen from you. You will rip him to sheds and swallow the pieces so no one may ever find him again.

 

But the annoying little _pest_ keeps shooting you.

 

He has that stupid bow of his, and he never lets you close enough. You retreat to your crystals – your last gifts from your lady – as your brothers, below you, try to fend off the man. You watch as they are slaughtered.

 

With a roar, you charge forward again.

 

This time, the _wretch_ destroys your crystals, attempting to evade you as he does. You shriek as, one after another, they shatter. They explode and leave the pillars empty.

 

With all of the crystals gone, you can no longer heal. You shove yourself towards the man, mind changed. If you cannot heal, then you will die and take him to his death with yours. The last thing you do will be to kill this _pathetic_ , little _mortal_ who keeps calling you a _he_.

 

As the final arrow sinks into you, you feel your body start to break. Your consciousness slips with your last thoughts going to your brothers and your lady.

* * *

 

But, Syrreth, you wake up.

 

You are not in control of the body you are in. It is foreign and strange, yet so similar that you think you must know it. In fact, you do. It is yours, or was yours. At one time, you shared this height. You shared these eyes. They were _yours_ once.

 

And with them, you saw the world and what the world would become. Visions of the future. One you shunned since the loss of your lady.

 

These eyes are new, though. They see the world as a strange, unfamiliar thing. You are watching the realms through the eyes of someone completely new.

 

 _Hello,_ you call to the thing your consciousness has found home in.

 

 _Hello,_ it replies after a moment. Its voice is tiny and afraid. It is small and, like you, female.

 

 _Do not be afraid of me,_ you say, _my name is Syrreth. Do you have a name?_

_Polaris… That’s a beautiful name._

_Syrreth is a pretty name, too._

You smile to yourself and decide that Polaris is a good companion. If you are to spend eternity in the head of something, at least it is something that you can care for. Perhaps, one day, you will see your lady again.

 

_Do you mind if I remain with you, Polaris? I would like to see the world again._

_I don’t mind. We can be friends._

_If it is all the same to you, I would like to sleep. If you need me, I am here._

_Okay. Good night, Syrreth._

_Good morning, Polaris._


	14. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polaris?
> 
> Polaris blinks, shifting next to Jordan. She’s getting too big to sit in his lap, so she’s been laying next to his side, letting him lean back against her.
> 
> What’s up, Syrreth? Polaris questions.
> 
> What are those things? They are quite loud, the eons-old Enderdragon replies.
> 
> The things in the sky? Those are fireworks! They’re something that the Mianitees made. Or… some Mianitees. I don’t think these ones invented them, she admits.
> 
> Syrreth is silent while another round explodes in the sky, raining lights as it does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Fireworks?

Boom.

 

Polaris chirrups happily as the sky lights up with bright, brilliant explosions of color. It doesn’t seem like the colors are in any particular shape – some of them are, but most don’t seem to be. The Mianitees are lighting them off with Jace’s help. Even Dianite has come to the Overworld to view the show (although, she’s staying far, far away from Dianite). Jay and Lara are watching the sky from a hill. Jace, after lighting off a few, darts between the falling sparks as the lights begin to fall and die. The pirates, similar to the Mianitees, are laughing and enjoying their grog.

 

The night sky is so pretty, all lit up like it is. It may be loud and frightening, but it’s so enjoyable. It’s like a party. Even the mobs seem to be keeping at a distance. Maybe, she thinks, they don’t want to ruin the spectacle with a fight. Zombies and creepers stare up at the sky; skeletons hide under trees, bows lowered. The endermen are huddled together, clicking and chattering amongst themselves about the exhibit.

 

 

Another set is lit off and shoots into the sky, exploding into a colorful shower of sparkling lights as the Mianitees whoop and the pirates offer out laughter.

 

Somehow, Jace gets Jay off of the cliff and the two wind up darting together through the sparks. It seems that the display is dark enough that what little light there is doesn’t offer Jay any harm – or maybe Lara’s energy is a protection against possible harm. Polaris doesn’t know, but Jay and Jace seem to be having quite the time chasing one another. She glances over at Lara, but the oldest of the Guardians seems more content with letting the two play than she seems eager to join them.

 

_Polaris?_

Polaris blinks, shifting next to Jordan. She’s getting too big to sit in his lap, so she’s been laying next to his side, letting him lean back against her.

 

 _What’s up, Syrreth?_ Polaris questions.

 

 _What are those things? They are quite loud,_ the eons-old Enderdragon replies.

 

 _The things in the sky? Those are fireworks! They’re something that the Mianitees made. Or… some Mianitees. I don’t think these ones invented them,_ she admits.

 

Syrreth is silent while another round explodes in the sky, raining lights as it does.

 

 _Did they wake you, Syrreth?_ Polaris asks.

 

Syrreth makes a noise. _No. I have been awake for a few days now, observing things. These are one of the things that I do not recognize. They did not exist when I last saw this realm._

_Oh,_ Polaris replies, feeling very silly for having so little so say to the older dragoness.

 

 _They are very beautiful, though,_ the other dragoness continues, _like my crystals had been._

_Crystals?_

_Yes. In the End, there used to be crystals that I – or you – could use to heal. They were so marvelous, Polaris. They were a gift from our lady._

_Maybe she can make you more crystals._

_You, you mean._

_Well, if I see them, then so do you. So they’d be yours and mine. We could share them._

Boom.

 

Polaris purrs as Jordan pets her. He gets up and starts running around with Tucker, Sonja, and Tom. They’re playing some sort of game – she doesn’t know what. One look to the sky tells her that Jace and Jay have somehow coerced Lara into joining them, although they seem to be regretting it. Lara is faster than they are and is easily evading their hands, too high up in the sky for Jay to slip into her shadow, and maneuvering too sharply for Jace to dive after her.

 

Syrreth hums. _It is good to see them having so much fun,_ she says, _it is good to see that they have not grown past their childish entertainment._

Polaris nods. _Jay and Jace bring out Lara’s fun side._

_Jace has always coaxed her to joy. Jay, however, has been a lovely addition to her life,_ she agrees.

 

Polaris waits a moment before getting to her feet. She shakily flaps her wings, taking off from the ground and shoving herself into the sky. Jay pauses just for a moment in his game of chase to send her a proud smile, before he dodges to the side to avoid Jace crashing into him after an attempt to grab at Lara. Polaris pumps her wings harder, feeling confident when she slices through the air towards the oldest of the four as sparks from another wave of fireworks fall atop her harmlessly.

 

Lara laughs and narrowly avoids her. “Come to play, Polaris?” She asks.

 

Jay sidles up next to Polaris, still smiling that proud smile that make Polaris’ stomach do flips. Jay has been teaching her for week how to fly properly, with Lara watching over the two like a guard.

 

“Good to see you’re comfortable enough, Polly,” Jay comments. “You’re getting better.”

 

“A lot better,” Jace agrees, making a swipe for Lara. At the last minute, Lara flies above him. Jace goes hurtling under her, spreading his wings out to slowly stop himself from getting too far away from them.

 

“You’re so unfair,” he whines.

 

Lara smiles. “You’re just upset that I’m winning.”

 

 _Have you not always won, Lara?_ Syrreth teases. _She has always been better than Jace at these games. When we would play together, Jace could not find her. She would let him win to be kind._

_You played with them?_

_Only Lara and Jace. I had never met Jay. When I would travel to the Void after our lady’s disappearance, I would not stay long. I would remain long enough to fly through the realm in hopes it would ease my mind._

_So Lara and Jace are… eons old? Like you?_

Syrreth makes an affirming noise and Polaris murmurs a bit. Jay is making grabs for Lara again, and Jace is trying to line up for a good shot. Polaris shakes her head. She lets out a playful roar before lunging towards the eldest of the Guardians. With every movement she make to get hold of Lara, she lets out a half-heart snarl.

 

If Lara and Jace are eons old, then she’s extremely young compared to them. And how old is Jay, then? Eons? Centuries?

 

 _Is Jay like his creator?_ Polaris asks. _I know Jace and Lara share traits of theirs, and I believe you and I share those of Ianite—_

_I know I do. You, however, lack balance and patience,_ Syrreth interrupts jokingly.

 

Polaris snorts a bit. _Patience is boring,_ she informs, before continuing her earlier point, _but Jay speaks so negatively of his creator. Lara has mentioned that his creator was horrible, and Jace growls anytime he’s brought up._

Syrreth sighs. _Polaris, you must understand that even gods change. The God of the Void I knew and the one you have heard of are no longer the same person. The god I knew would cradle me in his arms when I was small, and he would call me a member of his family. The god you have heard of has been afflicted with madness._

_Do you miss him?_

_I do not believe he would recognize me if he were to see me,_ Syrreth answers, and it’s clear to Polaris that her question is being pointedly avoided.

 

The last of the fireworks are lit and go off in quick, loud succession. On the ground, the Mianitees and pirates are hollering in excitement, arms thrown up into the air in celebration. Dianite chuckles, eyes watching the sky.

 

Lara laughs as Jay and Jace barely avoiding colliding with one another, caught off-guard by the commotion around them. The two turn to watch the last of the colors light up the sky. Lara glides over and hovers next to Polaris, smiling in appreciation.

 

“Tonight has been fun,” Lara admits.

 

Polaris purrs in agreement, nuzzling at Lara’s hands.

 

 _It certainly has,_ Syrreth agrees. _It was a marvelous show. These… ‘fireworks’ are beautiful things._

_I’m glad you liked it, Syrreth,_ Polaris says, _I’m happy you got to see it._

After a few moments of explosions, the fireworks draw to a close. Polaris lowers herself to the ground, watching as everyone starts to disperse. Tom leaves to return to his base; Lara and Jay leave to their home; Jace and Dianite disappear off to the Nether; Sonja and Tucker start to walk away; the pirates trudge off drunkenly towards their ship.

 

Jordan smiles and pats Polaris on the head. “Let’s go home.”

 

Polaris buts her snout against his shoulder and follows.


	15. Bit -- Zombie AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been there for three weeks; you just hadn’t told anyone. Now, though, you almost attacked Jay. Can’t hide it anymore. According to Jace, your eyes are already bloodshot. You told him earlier that you hadn’t been sleeping well – not a lie; you haven’t. But now you can’t lie anymore, because they know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Zombies  
> Death  
> Sadness

**Lara.**

 

_**Lara.** _

 

Don’t look at him.

 

Don’t look at him when he breathes your name, or when his voice is so close to pleading that you can hardly stand it. Because if you look at him, you’re going to cry. You’re going to cry and it’s not going to be pretty – especially not with all of the blood on you. Your face is sticky enough already without the tears added.

 

Besides, if you cry, he might start in, too.

 

Or not. Who knows. Don’t find out.

 

Jace is trembling. Jay is next to him. They’re both confused, lost, upset. Hurt.

 

Not physically, though. Not yet.

 

Unfortunately, that won’t last long.

 

**There’s a bite on your arm.**

 

It’s been there for three weeks; you just hadn’t told anyone. Now, though, you almost attacked Jay. Can’t hide it anymore. According to Jace, your eyes are already bloodshot. You told him earlier that you hadn’t been sleeping well – not a lie; you haven’t. But now you can’t lie anymore, because they know.

 

They know you’ve been making excuses to use the bathroom in an attempt to change the bandage on your arm, hidden under your sleeve, in secret. You don’t know how you managed to fool them so long. They should have noticed the bandages missing.

 

Oh, right. They trust you to count the supplies. They trust you not to steal their bandages to keep your imminent death a secret. They trust you to ration the food they have properly, even though you haven’t given yourself any for almost a week now because you haven’t felt the need to eat.

 

Well, eat proper food, anyway.

 

 

Look over at them finally.

 

Jace’s eyes are wet. Jay’s are misty, too, but his gaze seems more controlled. He’s probably seen death. He _has_ seen death. You all have.

 

And now… what?

 

What?

 

They’re just going to stand there?

 

You make a grab for Jay’s pistol, but he yanks it away from you, probably expecting your intentions.

 

**Just end it already, Jay.**

 

You’re going to die, or you’re going to go through something worse than death.

 

You would rather die.

 

**No?**

Laugh because they believe beyond belief that you’re not going to turn.

 

Yes you are.

 

Everyone else has.

 

You’re not going to be the one person who’s immune to this… this thing that has reanimated your father and Jace’s father. Jace’s mother. Jace’s sister. Your cousin and her boyfriend. Jay’s father and his girlfriend. All of your grandparents. Your aunt. Your other cousin.

 

You’re not different from them. You’re not special.

 

**Do it.**

The bite itches. It has for a week, along with the growing hunger. Your eyes have lingered on your cousin and your boyfriend in a way that makes you feel sick. Every single cut they’ve received and you’ve tended to with shaking hands has made your stomach growl and lurch threateningly at the same time.

 

Five minutes ago, you attacked Jay, intending to rip him apart with your bare hands just because.

 

Because what?

 

Because you were _hungry_.

 

**We’ll find a cure.**

**Not fast enough.**

Your gun is out of bullets. Jace had borrowed it a few weeks ago while he went scavenging for supplies in the town you’re all staying in, before you got bit. You would have ended this yourself if he didn’t. He’s probably not going to give it back to you now, though. It won’t matter anyway.

 

The only reason you’re all still in this town is because you developed a fever – the first sign of infection, if those two idiots would have paid closer attention to what you’d told them. Instead, they decided to stay around and found you an ice pack to keep your temperature as normal as they could. You practically slept curled around it because the cold was refreshing, but it didn’t stave off this.

 

**Jay, please. If you don’t do something, this is going to end badly for all of us.**

**I don’t want to, Lara. Just hang on.**

You can’t.

 

Why doesn’t he get that?

 

You’re sick.

 

You’re infected.

 

You should already be considered one of the dead because there is no coming back from this.

 

**L-Lara.**

Turn your attention to Jace.

 

All of your life, you’ve been there for him. You’ve watched him grow up and taught him how to survive as best you could because your fathers left you both together most days. You feel bad for asking him to do this, but he knows what will happen if nothing is done.

 

**Lara, I…**

**Either do it, or leave. Because if you don’t, you’re dead, too.**

Jace’s hand shakes as he lowers it, no longer reaching for you like he has been for the last few minutes.

 

Jay, standing next to him, looks at you, and then gives a resigned, frustrated, upset sigh.

 

**Jace, go inside. I’ll do it.**

**Jay… I should.**

**You sure?**

**N… Yeah.**

Watch as Jay begrudgingly hands over the pistol to Jace.

 

Jay steps back, watching you.

 

**Jay, go inside.**

**No, Lara.**

Swallow past the knot in your throat and turn your attention to Jace.

 

**Close your eyes, Jace. Don’t look.**

**Lara—**

Hum at him under your breath. The lullaby you used to sing when he was afraid of the monsters under his bed, and when this whole thing started, to calm him and keep nightmares away for him.

 

Watch as he closes his eyes once the gun is aimed at your head.

 

 

The safety is off now.

 

His hand is wrapped so tightly around the weapon that his knuckles are ghostly white and it’s shaking slightly.

 

Keep humming. Don’t stop.

 

If you stop, he’ll cry. He always did. Obnoxious little brat. You always had to be singing, because if you stopped, he’d wake up and cry at you. How did you ever sleep when you two were kids?

 

 

Listen to his shaky breaths as he steadies his hands.

 

The gun is aimed again.

 

His eyes are still closed.

 

**I’m sorry, Lara…**

**It’s okay, Jace. It will all be okay. Just keep your eyes closed for me.**

You would never blame him.

 

You would never blame either of them.

 

If you had been faster to close the door, your arm wouldn’t have gotten chomped on by one of the undead.

 

Hum again.

 

 

 

 

H—


	16. Adoption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She continues walking, stopping when she reaches a field where a flock of moas are resting. It’s not far from the crystal caves where the Aetherian bats live, but it’s far enough away that she feels comfortable in setting Thanatos’ feet on the ground so he can walk with her, hand-in-hand, over to where the moas are lying. The large birds raise their heads in curiosity, but lower them down when they see that the people approaching them aren’t a visible threat. Lara leads Thanatos into the center of them, sitting down and letting go of her son’s hand so he can wander about with the flock. Lara notes inwardly that a few of the older members of the flock shift into a different position, creating a wall to keep Thanatos from moving outside of the safety of their large resting area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Minor character death (non-graphic)  
> Cuteness (I swear it will make sense if you read it.)

Lara sighs, watching Mara play with the shadow creeper that she had _begrudgingly_ allowed Jay to make for their daughter. Although Lara is highly against any type of creeper being around her children, Jay had promised that this one couldn’t actually harm their daughter – and that if it ever did explode, it would just be for show to make Mara happy before the creature would spontaneous reform. According to Jay, it’s nothing to make it or remake it. Lara has her doubts in his certainty since he’s constantly had an iffy relationship with his powers since gaining her energy years ago, but she sees no reason to openly doubt him.

 

That said, she feels a bit bad whenever she watches Thanatos and Mara around the shadow creature because Thanatos really doesn’t want any part of it. Thanatos reels away from it, curling his wings behind himself and against his back in a way that screams fearfulness and dislike. The shadow never approaches him once he behaves like that, and Lara’s grateful. Until she and Jay figure out how to make Thanatos more comfortable again, she doesn’t want him pressured into being near anything made from darkness or the Void.

 

“Jay,” she calls.

 

Jay glances up from his spot on the floor, next to Mara and her shadow-friend. “Yeah?”

 

“I have to head up to the Aether for a few moments,” she informs. “Thanatos is going to come with me so he can have a break and a bit of time alone with me. Will you… three be alright alone while we’re gone?”

 

Jay nods. “Yeah, I can handle it. We’re just going to play with Cuddles, right, Mara?”

 

“Yeah,” Mara cheers.

 

Lara smiles, getting up and scooping Thanatos into her arms. She carefully places him on her hip, teleporting away with him. As soon as they appear in the Aether, she sets Thanatos on her shoulders and starts walking around, patting the various creatures that wander over to greet her. A few sheepuff and flying cows walk over, nudging at her sides welcomingly; zephyrs glance over, blowing a small gust of wind; and aerbunnies hop along beside her for a few paces before bouncing off toward a group of phygs.

 

“What does the cow say, Thanatos?” Lara asks.

 

“Moo,” Thanatos answers.

 

“The piggy?”

 

“Oink.”

 

“The sheep?”

 

“Baa.”

 

Lara smiles. “Very good,” she praises. “I see all those times we’ve gone to visit Champwan’s farm animals has gone to good use.”

 

She continues walking, stopping when she reaches a field where a flock of moas are resting. It’s not far from the crystal caves where the Aetherian bats live, but it’s far enough away that she feels comfortable in setting Thanatos’ feet on the ground so he can walk with her, hand-in-hand, over to where the moas are lying. The large birds raise their heads in curiosity, but lower them down when they see that the people approaching them aren’t a visible threat. Lara leads Thanatos into the center of them, sitting down and letting go of her son’s hand so he can wander about with the flock. Lara notes inwardly that a few of the older members of the flock shift into a different position, creating a wall to keep Thanatos from moving outside of the safety of their large resting area.

 

After a few moments of wandering around, Thanatos comes back over to Lara and points at one of the moas. “Birdy,” he declares proudly.

 

“Yes,” she confirms, “the moas are birdies. They’re big birdies.” She gives Thanatos a smile. “Would you like to see if one will be nice enough to let your ride it?”

 

Her son brightens up immediately at the prospect of getting a ride from one of them. Occasionally, Lara has managed to convince Litho to let the twins ride upon his back, but the tree-sized wolf is rather big to be trotting around the Overworld, and so Litho is much more frequently in the Aether, guarding. The moas, however, are tiny in comparison to Litho, and as such, will be much simpler to find the time to allow Thanatos – or Mara – to ride upon their backs.

 

She gets to her feet and lifts Thanatos, walking over to one of the younger moas. The hen raises her head, and Lara give her a polite smile. “Hello. May my son ride upon your back for a bit? I’ll make sure to repay you,” Lara says.

 

The moa draws to her feet, shakes her feathers, and then makes a crooning noise. Lara waits to see if she’s going to reject the offer, but the moa turns a pointed glance to her and Thanatos, eager for the ride he’s been promised, reaches out for the moa.

 

“Birdy! Birdy,” he repeats.

 

Lara sets Thanatos on the moas back, showing her son how to gently take hold of the moa’s feathers. The ones on her back and neck, more resilient than her others, are what he takes in his small fists. The moa carefully shakes her wings to wake them from their lack of use. When she steps forward, Lara hesitantly lets go of her son, watching him bounce slightly with every step the moa takes. He starts to giggle and laugh, clearly enjoying the whole thing, and Lara lets herself relax.

 

She waits while the moa walks around with him. When the moa returns, Lara offers her a few Aechor petals. Lara pats her on the head before scooping Thanatos up off of her back.

 

“Thank you so much,” Lara offers, “he seems to have enjoyed it. That was extremely kind of you, and kindness like yours doesn’t go unrewarded. I’ll make sure your flock has plenty of food and shelter, I promise.”

 

Thanatos reaches out and pets the moa on her head. The moa lets out a long, happy coo before returning to her resting spot. Lara makes a mental note to fulfill her promise the next time she visits the Aether alone, as it would be much too difficult to try and babysit either of the children while attempting to build a better shelter and a plentiful garden of Aechor plants for the moas to feast upon.

 

As Lara turns with Thanatos to visit another group of creatures, a few of the elder moas of the flock place themselves in her path. Lara stops, shifting Thanatos onto her hip so she can address them. “Yes?”

 

One of the moas – one who looks like her blue feathers have seen younger days, but like there is still much life left in her – leans in and nips at Lara hair, pulling gently in the direction of the nests. Believing there to be a problem with the eggs, Lara follows along. Instead of an ill egg or ill hatchling, there is an ill adult male lying next to an egg. The egg is a pearly-white color, opposite the black-and-red moa’s coloration. It’s clearly gained the color of its mother.

 

Lara glances over at the moa who’d led her there and sets Thanatos on her back. She moves over to the other moa carefully. Moas are naturally passive creatures, but injured and with an egg so close, she worries that it may strike out at her. The moa barely seems to have enough strength to lift his head. When he tries, his head falls right back down onto the ground and he lets out a grumbled flutter of noise.

 

“Shh. Shh. You’re alright,” she promises. “You’ll be alright. Is this egg yours? Is…”

 

She trails off, noticing what’s afflicting the moa. Underneath his chin is a bald patch that has been eaten away by poison. She’s confident that the poison is from a cockatrice, and unfortunately, she can’t do anything about it when it’s already spread far enough that the poor moa is barely clinging to life. The sight under the large bird’s chin is enough to tell her that if she saves the bird from poison, it will just die from infection.

 

She risks a glance over her shoulder and finds that the elder moa has taken Thanatos over to a nest of hatchlings. Her son is sitting happily amongst the baby moas, giggling at how they clamber over him clumsily. One of the mothers near the nest reach over, finding Thanatos’ black and white wings, and begins to groom them, preening the feathers carefully. Thanatos doesn’t seem to mind the attention he’s getting; if anything, he seems to like being treated as one of their flock.

 

Lara glances back at the ill moa before her and brushes her hand over his throat. “I’m so sorry,” she murmurs.

 

The moa makes a low noise and nudges the egg closer to Lara, causing her to blink. “W-What? I’m sure the moas in this flock can take care of your—” She starts, only to be interrupted when the moa sends a side-long look over at Thanatos and then back at her.

 

Lara realizes that the moa isn’t far from where Thanatos had been happily getting a ride from the female moa earlier, and that he must have noticed her son. Not to mention, he’s now able to watch how Thanatos is comfortably sitting in the nest of one of the mother moas, enjoying the company of her hatchlings who are smaller than he is.

 

“You’ve seen how I take care of my son,” she notes aloud. “I’m not one of you, though. I can’t take care of an egg like these moas will be able. They’ll teach your child all kinds of things that I’d not be able to teach them.”

 

The noise the moa makes is one of imploration. Lara sighs in defeated, leaning down and pressing her head against his side. His chest is barely rising and falling now. His breathing is so labored that Lara knows it’s only a matter of breaths now before he succumbs to the cockatrice’s poison.

 

She lifts her head back up and nods. “I’ll take your egg back with me,” she promises. “It will be safe. I swear to you.”

 

He croons quietly up at her, eyes half-lidded. Lara reaches forward, pressing a healing glow against the moa’s side until he doses off to sleep. It won’t spare his life, but it will make his end be painless. He won’t be awake to feel himself die.

 

“Sleep well,” she murmurs.

 

Lara lifts the egg and draws to her feet, catching the attention of the elder moa. She shakes her head a bit and the moa offers a soft coo of sympathy. The moa approached Thanatos and scoops him up by the back of his shirt, plucking him from the nest. She sets him down, nudging him toward Lara, and Lara holds out her free hand, cradling the moa egg against her chest.

 

“Let’s go home, Thanatos,” Lara suggests. “We’ve been gone long enough. Mara and Daddy are probably starting to worry about us.”

 

Thanatos takes her hand, opening a portal below them. When they land back in the house, the portal closes. Lara lets go of his hand, gesturing for him to play with his sister, while she beckons Jay aside.

 

“Hey, what’s up?” Jay asks when he sees her expression. “I haven’t seen you this somber since… a while.”

 

Lara holds up the egg. “We’ve been selected as the new parents of a little moa chick.”

 

“Moa?” Jay repeats.

 

“They’re large birds that live in the Aether,” she explains. “Passive, but rideable when they’re fully grown. Think of them as the horses of the Aether.”

 

Jay nods. “Alright. So it’s a bird-horse. And we’re adopting it?”

 

Lara nods at him. “Its father was dying. I have to assume the mother was already dead. The father was poisoned by a cockatrice.” When Jay sends her another look of confusion, she adds, “nasty, horrible, poisonous things. They’re similar to the moas in appearance, but they’re dangerous and brightly-colored. They don’t particularly like anything being around them.”

 

“Like cave spiders,” he says.

 

“Except that moas are kind, and regular spiders are only peaceful during the daylight,” she agrees.

 

Jay nods again. “Got it.” He looks down at the egg. “So… how do we take care of it?”

 

“It needs to stay warm,” Lara informs. “We can make a nest for it out of spare blankets. It’s warm enough outside than none of us really need such heavy covers. The egg will appreciate it, though.”

 

“I’ll get the blankets. You find a spot,” Jay offers, turning and walking into another room.

 

Lara glances over at the twins. Satisfied that they’re playing well together – and that Cuddles is asleep in a corner, nowhere near harming the children – she walks over to the other side of the room. She sits down with the egg until Jay returns, and then she lays out blankets in a bowl-like manner, placing the white moa egg in the center. When it’s settled, she wraps another blanket around the egg to keep it warm, setting up a redstone lamp above it for added heat.

 

“There,” she says, stepping back with Jay to inspect her work. The egg is nicely wrapped and in a heated area where it will stay warm enough to hatch. “Perfect.”

 

Jay smiles and kisses her. “I knew you’d like being a mom,” he muses.

 

Lara smiles back at him. “It’s definitely my favorite task.”


	17. Betrayal and History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jace growls, glaring over at Tom. The Mianitee isn’t serious, is he? He’s Furia’s friend? After everything Furia’s done, he wants to support him? Jace is furious. Jace is livid. He hopes it’s understandable when, the next time Tom asks him for something, Jace refuses to offer assistance. Instead, Jace hisses at him and remains still. He likes Tom, but he despises Furia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Swearing  
> Minor violence  
> Mentioned character death

Jace growls, glaring over at Tom. The Mianitee isn’t serious, is he? He’s Furia’s _friend?_ After everything Furia’s done, he wants to support him? Jace is furious. Jace is _livid_. He hopes it’s understandable when, the next time Tom asks him for something, Jace refuses to offer assistance. Instead, Jace hisses at him and remains still. He likes Tom, but he _despises_ Furia.

 

When he’d first met Furia, Jace had only been young. He’d barely had any time to exist, and then Dianite had created Furia – if only because Lara had so quickly become someone Jace was fond of. The first thing Furia had done upon finding Jace had been to try and drown him in lava, holding him underneath the surface of one of the lava seas in the Nether until Jace was coughing up the burning, searing liquid for hours. His attempts had been unsuccessful, but Jace had been wary to ever go near him again.

 

And now, knowing that Furia is enraged over the loss of Ianite’s heart, Jace is even less excited to be in the same room as him, especially with Lara preoccupied with babysitting Polaris.

 

Jace listens as Furia throws around insults and threats. He doesn’t much care for Ianite being threatened, but he doesn’t say anything about it. Ianite is a goddess; she’ll be fine. Furia’s determination to overthrow Dianite isn’t lost on Jace, either, but he knows Dianite can handle himself. The god is stronger than someone as arrogant and petty as Furia.

 

When Furia threatens Captain Capsize, Jace clenches his fist and grits his teeth. How _dare_ he threaten a mortal’s life. Jace might not always like the Mianitees, but he’d never threaten them. Threatening a mortal is asking for divine punishment. Jace has only ever joking warned them against messing with him, and it never works anyway. They always prank him or throw snowballs at him, and Jace retorts with a prank of his own.

 

It’s when Furia slays Capsize, unprompted by anything, that Jace loses his composure. He snarls and lunges forward, knocking Furia back. He claws and bites, but he does nothing to Furia. It makes Jace feel like a child again He feels like he’s staring up at Furia with wide, frightened eyes because he can do nothing. He’d been useless against the other being in his childhood. Furia proves that to be still true when he simply throws out an arm, knocking Jace away from him and against one of the stone brick pillars of the temple. Jace feels a few of the tiny, fragile bones in his wings shatter upon impact, causing him to let out a pained yowl.

 

Redbeard goes after Furia and ‘slays’ him. It doesn’t work. Jace knows it won’t, but he can’t say anything. He’s too busy curling in on himself because his wings are broken and pain is coiling up and down his spine. He can’t move. He can hardly breathe without suffering agony around his ribcage.

 

“I’m sorry,” he manages to choke out, “I-I’m sorry, Skipper. I’m so sorry.”

 

Skipper Redbeard keeps silent, but Tom walks over, offering Jace a helpful hand. Jace raises his head, eyes flashing dangerously, before he strikes out at Tom. His claws cross the Mianitee’s face. Tom reels backward, covering his injuries, and lets out a surprised cry.

 

“Don’t come near me, traitor,” Jace hisses as he lowers his arms back around his stomach, ignoring the sticky feeling on his claws. “You’re dead to me, Tom. You’re _dead_.”

 

“Jace—”

 

“ _Shut up._ ”

 

 

Jace follows them to Ianarea. He hasn’t met up with Lara to get his injuries tended to, so his wings hang uselessly behind him. Intelligently, Tom has remained as far away from him as possible. Jordan had begrudgingly given him a health potion, and offered one to Jace when he did. Unfortunately, the potion won’t fix his wings, so he declined it. No need to waste something.

 

“Skipper, I’m sorry,” he offers again. “If I’d just been faster—”

 

“It’s not your fault, lad,” Redbeard mumbles back at him.

 

Jace hates it. He hates feeling so small and powerless. Compared to the mortals around him, he should feel godly. He should feel invincible – but he doesn’t. He couldn’t stop Furia. He didn’t even try to save Capsize, and he’d only moved once he saw her die.

 

He tosses a glance over at Tom, scowling at the sight of his healed face. He doesn’t deserve to look fine. He deserves the claw marks that had been there, but Jordan is kinder than Jace is. Jordan is _neutral_. Jace has been betrayed by yet another person. First Nade, and now Tom. The Modsteps don’t come around often anymore; Declan and Champwan are happy enough to be around him, but they always seem more comfortable in Lara or Polaris’ presence; Tucker and Sonja have no favor to offer him.

 

He follows Jordan and Redbeard into Ianite’s ‘temple,’ looking around as the goddess speaks to them. He didn’t come with them the last time. Dianite hadn’t allowed him to, and Mianite had kept Lara behind as well. Polaris was the only Guardian who visited Ianarea, and Jace can see why she’d returned so relaxed. Ianarea is beautiful. It looks like a good vacation spot.

 

 _And Dianite destroyed this,_ he thinks.

 

Tom changes his mind after a while of talking. He turns to Jace, asking whether or not Jace is willing to “forget” about it. Jace remains silent, staring blankly at the Mianitee, until Tom has asked four times.

 

“No,” he answers.

 

“What’s your problem with Furia anyway?” Tucker inquires.

 

“A lot of things. He tried to drown me in lava, for one,” Jace replies.

 

“I thought you’re lava-proof?” Jordan questions.

 

Jace huffs. “I am. But lava still hurts to swallow, you know. You can drink water. Does it feel good to have it poured down your throat, or to start drowning?” Jordan and Tucker shake their heads. “Exactly,” Jace grumbles.

 

“You said ‘for one.’ What more is there?”

 

“Jordan—”

 

“No, Jace, tell us. I’ve been wondering about it since we first met Furia. He’s a Guardian? Are you all evil?”

 

Jace entertains a brief staring match with Jordan, but the Mianitee doesn’t back down. Frustrated and defeated, he sighs. “Okay. Okay. Fine,” he growls.

 

“No, we’re not all evil, and no, Furia’s not one of us. He’s…” He trails off, looking for a correct phrase, “he didn’t used to be called a Guardian. Dianite introduced him to me when I was little, and he only called him ‘Furia.’ Not ‘Guardian Furia’ like he does now. I don’t know why he started calling him that—”

 

“Maybe he wanted Furia to replace you,” Tom says.

 

Jace flinches, but forces himself to move past Tom’s unintentionally awful words. “I don’t know what Furia’s purpose originally was. Dianite never told me. It could’ve been that Furia was meant to capture Ianite, but… gods, I don’t know, Jordan. I just know he’s stronger than me and I can’t do anything to stop him.”

 

 

When they return to the Overworld, Jace follows Jordan back to his home. Jace watches as Polaris leaps into the Mianitee’s arms as soon as he’s through the door. Lara, as knowing as ever, takes one look at Jace before gesturing for him to sit down.

 

“Lara, Furia’s—”

 

“I know. He stopped by,” she interrupts.

 

Jace jumps. “He did? You’re both okay?”

 

Lara huffs. “He taunted me and threatened Polaris. As it turns out, dragon fire is not the same as Netherian flames. It’s far more similar to the flames of the Void, and not even Furia is immune to its burn.”

 

“Remind me never to piss off Polaris,” Jace jokes half-heartedly.

 

“Oh, you’ll only forget once,” Lara promises, equally as teasing, before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Be more careful, Jace. I can’t fix you if you wind up completely broken.”

 

Jace nods and brings his tail up to wrap around her wrist. She smiles at him.

 

“We’ll stop Furia,” she promises. “Together.”

 

“Together,” he agrees, silently thankful for Lara’s assurance.


	18. Babysitting a Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ianite has left young Syrreth alone with you while she handles business with her brothers. Admittedly, you didn’t think the cat-sized Enderdragon would enjoy your company. You must smell strange to her, and you’re mostly foreign to her. You’ve probably been around Ianite once or twice only since Syrreth’s creation, and you’ve only seen Syrreth those times – but the dragoness had been asleep through the duration of your visits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Cuteness? Is that applicable for a warning? It's a baby dragon. It's adorable.

She nips at your fingers.

 

The little dragoness is lying on her back in your lap, nipping at your fingers – and it’s actually rather cute. She keeps trying to be vicious, but she’s actually just being adorable with her teeny-tiny growls and her teeny-tiny teeth and her teeny-tiny claws. You don’t voice your opinions, though. She probably wouldn’t appreciate her prey telling her that she’s cuter than she is vicious.

 

Ianite has left young Syrreth alone with you while she handles business with her brothers. Admittedly, you didn’t think the cat-sized Enderdragon would enjoy your company. You must smell strange to her, and you’re mostly foreign to her. You’ve probably been around Ianite once or twice only since Syrreth’s creation, and you’ve only seen Syrreth those times – but the dragoness had been asleep through the duration of your visits.

 

Obviously, she doesn’t consider you to be a threat, though. When Ianite had handed her over to you, she had clung to your arm and then scrambled atop your head, peering over the top of it to stare down at you. As soon as you sat down – mindful of the little dragoness perched on your head still – she had rolled off of you and flopped ungracefully down into your lap, where she is now residing, still playing with your hands.

 

You manage to use your free hand to carefully brush the sensitive undersides of her wings, which causes her to make a noise that is a mix between a chirp and a coo. She rolls immediately over onto her feet, raising her wings away from your hands. She doesn’t seem hurt or annoyed, but she does seem curious as to what prompted your touch to go to her wings.

 

“Was that uncomfortable?” You ask cautiously.

 

She tips her head to the side at you, clicking in response.

 

“I’m sorry. I don’t speak your language,” you tell her. “Perhaps you can teach me.”

 

Syrreth remains perfectly still for a moment before, suddenly, she drops onto her side. Panic races through you at the concern that you’ve just broken Ianite’s little dragoness. Somehow, you’ve harmed her without her showing any signs of injury, and—

 

She warbles up at you, squirming in your lap until you start to run your hand gently underneath her chin. Her warbling then turns into a content purr. You can feel the vibrations under your fingers as her throat rumbles with noise that seems to come from deep within her chest. Her front feet reach up, talons closing around your hand to keep you from pulling it away as you continue to stroke her chin.

 

“I don’t know what to make of you,” you admit to her. “You’re foolish.”

 

She warbles up at you again, pulling your hand away from her throat and closing her jaws around a few of your fingers. Once again, she’s nipping you – or gnawing on your fingers, despite her sharpened teeth. She’s not hurting you, though. It seems, despite her size and predator status, she’s deemed you too fragile to bite. Her tiny teeth scratch over your fingers, lightly running over them. She’s not looking for anything.

 

When she releases your fingers, you scoop her up, cradling her against your chest. She shifts in your arms, finding your heart and purring in-time with it. You smile at her, getting to your feet and carrying her along as you walk about the End. The endermen glance toward you, but don’t seem to be offended to see their sibling in your grasp. They chirrup and click as you walk past them, and then return to their business.

 

“I’ll make a deal with you,” you tell the dragoness, though you doubt she’s listening. “I’ll visit you more, but you’re mine as well. Not just Ianite’s. It’s fair – I get a friend, and you get a playmate and someone who will pet you until his hands fall off.”

 

She chirps up at you. You take it as a sign of agreement.

 

“Then we have a deal, Syrreth,” you say. “I’ll see you again soon.”


	19. School Fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You hadn’t meant to hit the other boy. Okay, well, maybe you did – but he started it! He’d been bullying Thanatos and trying to pressure Thanatos into letting him copy his answers to a test, and Thanatos had been really against it because he knew it was wrong. So the bully had punched Thanatos in the eye. Left him with a dark circle there that you thought would look ugly in the morning. So, being the good sister you are, you tackled the kid to the ground and started wailing on him in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Implied/mentioned child and spousal abuse (from side-characters)  
> Implied references to adultery  
> Non-graphic violence  
> Bullies

Mommy is going to be _so_ mad.

 

You hadn’t meant to hit the other boy. Okay, well, maybe you did – but _he started it!_ He’d been bullying Thanatos and trying to pressure Thanatos into letting him copy his answers to a test, and Thanatos had been really against it because he knew it was wrong. So the bully had punched Thanatos in the eye. Left him with a dark circle there that you thought would look ugly in the morning. So, being the good sister you are, you tackled the kid to the ground and started wailing on him in return.

 

You’re a good sister. Mommy and the teachers, though, probably don’t agree right now. Daddy will agree, though – even if he can’t agree while Mommy is there to scold you, because Mommy doesn’t like it when Daddy “encourages that behavior.” You and Daddy both know that Mommy’s right, but it never stops him from giving you a grin and a high-five in private.

 

You’re in the principal’s office with Thanatos. Thanatos is only there because he was involved, and because he refused to stay with the nurse while you were being escorted away from the classroom. He has an ice pack pressed against his eye, which has swollen a bit already. You look over at him with a grimace and a wince of sympathy.

 

The other boy is in the vice principal’s office in the next room over. You can hear his parents talking loudly. They’re not as worried that their son beat up another student. Instead, the father is more concerned that you were the one to sock his son in the mouth, not Thanatos, and the mother is more concerned about how she’s had to take time out of work to be there for her “little angel” because of some “silly, little tussle” since “fighting is what boys do.” His parents sound obnoxious and you kind of feel bad for him because he doesn’t seem like he’s really important to them, or like they take the time for him at all.

 

The door opens behind you and you hide your face in your hands. The principal walks in with your mother and father behind him. Mommy immediately moves over to Thanatos. Daddy circles around on your other side to peek at both of you, and you give him an apologetic look. They’ve both had to leave work for your fight. Mommy had to leave her job as a doctor, and Daddy had to leave his job as a police officer for this.

 

“Thanatos,” Mommy winces. “That looks awful, honey.”

 

“What happened?” Daddy asks.

 

The principal walks around his desk and sits down in his cushioned chair. It’s a nicer chair than anyone else in the school has. All of the other chairs are hard and plastic, and really hurt your back if you sit in them for too long. Your teacher has already taken the initiative to bring in pillows from her own house to cushion all of the chairs in your classroom. According to her, students learn better and are happier if they’re comfortable.

 

The principal, who’s an old, greying man with dark eyes and a kind face, lets out a sigh. “I’m not too sure myself,” he admits. “From what Ms. Laney told me, Thanatos was being harassed by another student over something and the other boy lost his temper. He hit Thanatos in the eye, and Mara initiated a fight between herself and the other boy.”

 

Mommy nods. At some point, she dropped to her knees next to Thanatos and was gently pressing her fingers around his eye, probably to make sure nothing was seriously hurt. Daddy leans against the wall, looking over at the principal.

 

“So why isn’t the other kid here?” Daddy inquires.

 

“Mr. Davidson is being subjected to the same conferencing at the moment as Mara, here, is,” the principal answers. “Thanatos isn’t being punished. He didn’t do anything to provoke the reaction he gained, but Mara…”

 

He sighs and continues, “you have to understand, Mr. Night, at this campus there is a strict no-tolerance policy for violence, whether the child is instigating a fight or defending themselves against one. Violence is unacceptable for any reason. I know Mara was attempting to defend her brother, but she also injured another student and she’s going to be held accountable in the same manner as Mr. Davidson is.”

 

Daddy opens his mouth, likely to reply, but Mommy cuts him off before he can. “We fully understand that, Mr. Richards. That’s not a problem at all. Just… what’s the punishment?”

 

The principal offers a sympathetic smile. “I’d like Mara to write an apology letter to Mr. Davidson, and she’ll have plenty of time to do it while she’s at home for the remainder of the week. We’ve already collected her assignments from Ms. Laney, so she won’t miss any homework.”

 

“Remainder of the week?” Daddy echoes. “It’s only Monday! Lara and I have to work all week, and we don’t have a—”

 

“I’ll call in and use some of my vacation days,” Mommy interrupts. “It’s not like we ever have the time to go on vacation anyway.”

 

Mommy smiles at you and says, “it can be girl-time for us. We haven’t had time to just have mommy-daughter days since you were really little, have we, Mara? It will be fun.”

 

You smile because Mommy doesn’t seem as angry as you thought she would be. You’re probably still going to get scolded – and you can probably say goodbye to that cool gaming system you got for the rest of the week, at least – but at least Mommy isn’t angry.

 

Daddy sighs. “You’re right,” he agrees, before looking over at Thanatos. “You okay, bud? How’s the eye?”

 

“Hurts,” Thanatos answers. “He wanted to cheat off my test.”

 

“Well, I know your eye is bothering you, but it’s never a good thing to help someone cheat,” the principal says. “Next time, go to your teacher and tell her what’s going on. Though, if it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’ll be trying to cheat off of you again. Mr. Davidson looks about the same as Thanatos, except Mara knocked out one of his teeth. Thankfully, it was already loose, so she didn’t really cause any permanent injuries.”

 

Thanatos nods and the principal turns his attention over to you. “Mara, I don’t really think it needs to be said, but I’ll say it anyway. Next time Thanatos is in trouble, please get a teacher instead of taking matters into your own hands. I think we all know that you were just trying to help, but two wrongs don’t make something right.”

 

You nod. “I know. I-I’m sorry,” you offer. “I just don’t like bullies, and he was being so mean to Thanatos! Thanatos is really nice, and Darren was just being really, _really_ mean!”

 

Daddy claps a hand on your shoulder. “It’s okay, Mara. I think you made your point clear to Darren. He probably won’t bug your brother again,” he says.

 

Mommy hums in agreement. “We’ll write the letter tonight and send it off in the morning with the mail,” she tells you. “As long as you say you’re sorry and you mean it – and this doesn’t happen again – then I’m sure everything will be okay. You’re a good girl, honey. It’s not the end of the world.”

 

The principal offers a proud smile and gets to his feet. “You can go and get your work from the women in the front office, Mara,” he informs. “I’d like to send both Mara and Thanatos home for the rest of the day. Thanatos, we’ll see you tomorrow morning. If your eye is hurting you too much, we can make arrangements to have the assistant teacher in Ms. Laney’s class be available to help you. Mara, we’ll see you at the beginning of next week, alright?”

 

“Yes, Mr. Richards,” you and Thanatos say in unison.

 

“Very good.” He claps his hands together and chuckles. “That will be all. Thank you for showing up, Mr. and Mrs. Night. I’m sorry for any inconvenience.”

 

Daddy shakes his head. “They’re our kids. They’re never an inconvenience.”

 

Mommy nods. “Exactly. Call us in anytime something happens. We’d rather know than not. If one of the children got seriously hurt, I’d rather not find out later, when I can’t do anything about it,” she agrees.

 

The principal walks around his desk and leads the four of you to the door. Mommy is holding Thanatos’ hand in one of hers, and Daddy has his hand on your shoulder comfortingly, yet proudly. As you exit the room and move into the hall, you can see Darren Davidson and his parents standing in front of the receptionists. Mommy is the one to walk over to the desk with Thanatos to collect your homework. The second she gets in view with Thanatos, Darren’s father turns to look at her. He looks Mommy up and down, and Daddy tenses. You can hear Daddy’s jaw snap shut as the man’s eyes wander over Mommy’s chest and hips. Darren’s mother doesn’t even seem to notice, probably because she’s too busy arguing with the receptionist she’s talking to.

 

Darren’s father’s gaze suddenly turns to you. An ugly scowl crosses his already ugly face. His hairline is receding and what’s left of his hair is oily. His suit looks like it’s still wrinkled, like it just came out of the cleaner. His glasses are thick, with smudges all over the lenses, and you can see the faintest smoke coming out of his mouth when he breathes like he’s just smoked a cigarette on the school campus.

 

“Oh, so there’s the little brat who punched my son. Hmph. She doesn’t look too touch. You could’ve taken her, Darren,” he says, glance shifting coolly to his child.

 

You don’t like Darren. He’s a bully, and he’s a bad student. He’s one of those kids who sit in the back and throw wads of paper at the other students. You know that because you’ve chucked them right back at him when the teacher’s not looking. But, maybe, Darren is only a bad kid because his parents don’t care enough.

 

“It’s not nice to hit a girl, Dad,” Darren mumbles.

 

“She hit you first,” his father booms.

 

You keep silent, not wanting to start a fight again. Darren doesn’t seem to want to, either, so he keeps his mouth shut. Daddy has tightened his hand around your shoulder just enough to tell you that he’s barely holding back from letting Darren’s dad get a piece of his mind. Thanatos is standing next to Mommy, pressed up against her legs to stay as far away from the other man and Darren as he can be, probably because he doesn’t want to get hit again.

 

Darren’s father turns his attention back to Mommy, even as Mommy talks to the nice receptionist. The other receptionist is having quite the time trying to calm down Darren’s mother.

 

“If she grows into her mother’s looks, though, boy, she might not be a bad wife. If she can keep that damn temper of hers in check,” he huffs.

 

Daddy takes a step forward, but Mommy turns her attention to Darren’s father. “ _Excuse me?_ ” Mommy asks.

 

Darren’s father has the most disgusting smirk on his face. You think some of his teeth might even be yellow from smoking too many cigarettes. “You heard me, pretty lady. I didn’t stutter.”

 

“I didn’t believe you did,” Mommy agrees. “But I’ll have you know that I’m _happily_ married, and even if I wasn’t, I’d never be caught _dead_ in the arms of a man like you, who seems to think that a woman is only a toy for the bedroom and a trophy. You’re disgusting, sir, and your wife is beautiful woman. Why she ever lowered herself to marrying you, I can’t fathom. I just feel bad for she and your poor child. I can’t imagine what tortures they must suffer through so you can raise your nonexistent level of self-esteem.”

 

Daddy takes a step back. You can see the smirk on his face. Daddy always likes it when Mommy is honest with other people, even if she’s sometimes brutally honest when she is. Daddy likes to say that you and Thanatos are “Mommy’s cubs” and that Mommy will protect her cubs with the ferocity of a mother bear. No one touches a mother bear’s cubs without expecting to come out mauled.

 

“Why, you—” Darren’s father growls.

 

Mommy isn’t afraid at all. “What’s wrong? Can’t handle a woman who will talk back? I’ll bet there are bruises on your wife and child. Maybe a call to social services would be good. Most abuse victims do tend to stay with their abuser and protect them, so I can only assume that’s why your lovely wife is with you still.”

 

The receptionist Mommy was talking to tips her head a bit to signify that she heard Mommy’s advice. Mommy continues talking, “I know at my place of work, someone who behaves like you would be escorted out of the room and the patient would be talked to separately. If it was a child, social services would be called on you in a moment’s notice.”

 

Darren’s dad isn’t talking anymore. His fists and jaws are clenched, but he’s completely silent. His wife is looking at Mommy like they’re sharing some secret or something, and Darren is inching away from his father. You can’t help but feel like Mommy has made a point and Darren’s dad knows she’s right.

 

“So if you _ever_ comment about my looks, or look me over like I’m a piece of meat again, it won’t just be my daughter who’ll be showing off how strong a woman can really be,” she adds. “I don’t need my husband to defend me. Do you understand me, sir?”

 

“Yep,” Darren’s father growls.

 

Darren’s mother moves away from the receptionist with a folder in her hand. She grabs Darren’s hand in her other one and steers her son away his father. “Officer Night,” she calls.

 

Daddy looks over at her. “Yes?” He asks in a voice filled with false pleasantry, as if he’s pretending not to have heard all of Mommy’s accusations.

 

“I couldn’t help but notice that you brought an SUV,” she admits. “Could you possibly give me a ride down to the police station? I’d like to file a police report against my husband for spousal and child abuse.”

 

Daddy smirks. “Of course, Mrs. Davidson. Would you like a lawyer present?”

 

“Please,” she answers.

 

Daddy takes your hand and walks with you, Darren, and Mrs. Davidson out to the SUV. Mommy follows with Thanatos and a folder identical to the one Mrs. Davidson has. You don’t see Mr. Davidson leave, but you expect that his afternoon is going to be very interesting now. Daddy helps you and Thanatos into the back seat, and Mrs. Davidson climbs in the middle seat with Darren.

 

While Mrs. Davidson calls into her work to inform them that she’s going to be taking the rest of the week off, Darren cranes around in his seat to try and look at you and Thanatos.

 

“I’m sorry, Thanatos,” he offers. “Sorry, Mara.”

 

“It’s okay, Darren,” you reply. Thanatos nods, and you add, “I’m sorry I knocked out your tooth.”

 

Darren grins. “It’s okay. It was loose anyway. Now maybe the tooth fairy will visit me!”

 

You grin back at him. “Awesome.”

 

Daddy gets out of the SUV with Mrs. Davidson and Darren when Mommy reaches the police station. Mommy drives you and Thanatos back home, and you eat macaroni and cheese for lunch. When Daddy gets home later, he’s smiling. He kisses Mommy and tells her all about how Mrs. Davidson washed off her makeup to expose bruises on her face and arms, and how she rolled up Darren’s long-sleeve shirt to show faded bruises on his arms.

 

When you see Darren next week, he runs over to you and Thanatos. Ms. Laney has warily placed the three of you in a group together to work on a group project. Darren struggles a bit with the subject matter – and so do you – but Thanatos is there to help. The project goes smoothly. By the end of the week, it’s as though the fight never happened. Darren even comes over to your house for a sleepover, although Daddy panics and tries to protest that boys and girls can’t have sleepovers together because “Lara, she’s our princess!” Mommy only laughs at him. You’re not sure why he’s so worried, though, but Mommy seems to know why and thinks it’s a silly reason.


	20. I Do Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To Jay, Lara is the light that gave life to a shadow – but Lara knows something that he doesn’t seem to. She knows that she needs the shadow as much as he needs the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Um... none, I think?

_“You’re like the sun, giving the lowly shadow life.”_

When he says things like that, Lara brushes them off because they’re immediately followed by a reluctance, hesitant admittance of guilt because of something he’s inevitably done that he knows will make her cross with him. And whatever it is that he has done does typically upset her. The latest time he’s used that is when he got Thanatos into a bit of trouble and had to come find her with a metaphorical tail between his legs because he needed her to tend to their son. Jay’s… unconventional at best, and sometimes he’s more reckless than she’d like – especially when it comes to their twins – but he loves his children and he loves her, and that is always enough to make up for it.

 

It’s when the Mianitees start to question who loves whom more than her stomach starts to feel ill. It starts off as just a joke between them. Tucker and Tom are talking about the two of them and Lara overhears Tom say that Jay clearly loves Lara more and has always. Tucker laughs along with him and points out that he and Sonja love one another equally, and that he’s quite sure Jinx and Dianite – and Polaris and QuickSilver – are the same as the two mortals. Lara knows it shouldn’t hurt so much, but she still turns and flees from what she’s overhearing all the same.

 

The next time she hears talk of it, it’s from Jordan. He’s trying to be polite in telling her that Jay is trying to plan another date for them to go on, and when Lara asks him to try and ward Jay’s idea of a romantic, snowy getaway, Jordan wonders innocently why Lara never tries to plan a date. Does she not like dates? Lara is quick to defend herself by stating that she just doesn’t have the time to plot out a romantic evening when she has so many other things to worry about. As soon as the words leave her mouth, she realizes that she has just said the equivalent of “Jay doesn’t matter to me as much as my tasks do” and she leaves before Jordan can say anything.

 

When she returns home, Jay and the twins are fast asleep on the floor of the twins’ room. There are toys strewn all about the bedroom, as well as various books she’d deemed acceptable for the children to have. Mara and Thanatos’ teddy-bears are hugged tightly to their respective owners’ chest, but the rest of their plush toys are scattered around, along with a toy train that has been upended off of its track, blocks of different colors, shapes, and sizes, a wooden boat and toy duck, and various others that were all once neatly placed in the toy chest that they had received as a gift from Jordan.

 

Lara sighs and grabs one of the blankets out of the closet, placing it over the three sleeping figures before she moves around the room. She returns the toys to their chest. She places the other plush dolls back in their net where they belong when not being played with or slept with. She rights the train and nudges its track back to the corner of the room. She places the blocks away in their container, and then places the books back on their shelves, low enough where the twins can reach them without flying and in alphabetical order as she likes them. She does everything without making a single sound to wake her family.

 

As soon as everything is nicely put away, she takes the twins from their father’s arms and places them in their beds, tucking them underneath their covers. She reaches down then and stirs Jay, helping him to his feet and out of the room while he practically sleep-walks alongside her to their bedroom. Once she leads him to the bed, he drops onto it on his side, snoring quietly as she rests a blanket over him and kisses his cheek.

 

She knows Jay loves her – and for quite some time, she knows it seems like he loved her so much more. And he had, then. When she had believed every single word that fell from Mianite’s lips, she had considered Jay a potential romance, but also an annoyance and a guaranteed risk. Mianite had told her for centuries never to trust anything void-born, and she had been too eager to listen to him. Too desperate for a father’s love that never really existed. Now, she thinks differently; she knows better. All of the times that she had chosen Mianite’s words over Jay’s feelings, she had watched disaster play out and then begrudged Jay the events and results; now, she could see that the blame was mostly her own. For everything Jay destroyed, she was a leading force behind his actions.

 

There are so many things Jay could easily blame her for, but he never does. He grits his teeth and holds back screams, but he never blames her. Even when Tucker and Sonja defend Lara for all of her faults, to the point of siding with her because they simply have known her longer and have seen her behavior enough to believe that she doesn’t act without reason. They’ve recently ceased that behavior, and for that, Lara’s grateful. She wants people to point out more of her guilt than she does to see Jay being forced to take the fall just because she’s existed longer.

 

In truth, she and Jay are toxic in so many ways. They fight and harm one another constantly, never physically, but emotionally. Jay denies her fears and laughs in the face of her worries, deeming them misplaced and worthless – but he never means so in a harmful light, even when Lara screams that he’s being horrible. Lara snaps about his destructive tendencies and his inability to leave well enough alone, and Jay storms off, leaving her alone for hours at a time. In so many ways, they hurt each other.

 

But those are just the bad days, and there are so few of those.

 

On the good days, she and Jay will sit and play with the twins. Jay will train them to use their powers and through different forms of combat, and Lara will hover close by to monitor and encourage. Occasionally, to make Thanatos comfortable again, Jay will try to coax her down to spar with him, and she and Jay will spend the time chasing one another around like the training is as much a game for them as it is for the children. She and Jay continue to race from place to place when they take the children to visit the Mianitees or their extended family at Jerry’s Tree or the Nether. And when they day has reached its end, they’ll carry their children to their beds and lay them to sleep, reading stories and singing lullabies until both Mara and Thanatos have drifted off.

 

On good days, she and Jay will head to bed and curl around one another. If they’re still awake enough, they’ll fall into a tangle of limbs, washing one another in kisses and touches until they’re too exhausted to move. If they’re already sleepy, they’ll nestle close and rest in one another’s arms, enjoying the sounds of breathing and heartbeats until sleep takes them both.

 

And when they wake, with their wings pressed against one another, it’s better than waking to the sunlight for Lara. To see Jay’s eyes flutter open and stay half-lidded as he looks at her and brushes his hands through her hair is mesmerizing to her, even after years of waking up to him. To feel his hands move down to her wings and run over the sensitive appendages until they arch and she lets out a quiet, pleasured noise is enough to make her feel like there’s electricity underneath her skin. The way Jay laughs when she responds that way, every single time he does it, is like music.

 

Jay has always told her that her kisses are addictive, but in so many ways, he’s her addiction. His touch is enough to send shivers up her spine. His voice immediately gains her attention, even if his tone is soft. The way he knows just the right places on her to touch or kiss lets her know that he’s fully aware of how her body functions. His kisses are as wonderful to her as he claims hers are to him. The way he grabs her hand when he can read her concern or her anxiety is enough to balance her again, and the way his pinky finds hers is a grounding force that solidifies her trust. She knows he’s not leaving her behind. He never will – not as long as either of them live.

 

So the next time she hears Jay offer his typical excuse, or she hears the Mianitees talk about their relationship, she reminds herself of how much she cares and how important Jay has been to her since meeting him properly. She reminds herself of the first time they ever met and how, despite her words and actions and threats, Jay had called her pretty and refused to leave her in case she would be punished. Despite not recalling that when she had met Jay again centuries later, Jay’s feeling had been a repeat of that, and Lara had been just as flattered then. Since meeting him again – even prior to the twins’ being a thought – Lara had fallen in love with him for him. She hadn’t fallen in love with his memory. She had fallen in love with the pesky trouble-maker who blew up Tom’s base on a weekly basis and who caused her enough clarity to doubt the affection and loyalty she had for Mianite.

 

To Jay, Lara is the light that gave life to a shadow – but Lara knows something that he doesn’t seem to. She knows that she needs the shadow as much as he needs the light. She needs her place to hide away when the world is just too much. When the world is loud and stressful and bright, she needs her dark hideaway to find quiet and peace. She needs something else to take over when she can’t do it because it’s too frightening to handle, or it hurts too much to catch her breath when her panic builds to the point of bursting. Sometimes, she needs to not seem to strong, and Jay is there to be her comfort. Jay is there to wrap her in his arms, curl his wings around her, and be something that she can latch on to. He’s there to soothe her with touches and kisses and murmurs of love and protection. Of certainty. Of bravery.

 

Jay doesn’t seem to realize how much he means to her. He knows he’s important, but she doesn’t think she could ever stress how important he really is. So she always tries to remind him. When they fall together in bed, she tries to let him know by pressing against him and making sure he gets all of her attention. When they play spar or chase, she makes sure to tell him by healing his injuries or joking about how he’s cheating. When they spend time with the children, she makes sure he understands when she encourages Mara and Thanatos to share their toys with their father.

 

But she never justifies herself aloud – not to the Mianitees. They’re not the ones who need to understand; Jay is. They can continue to think what the please, but as long as Jay knows that she needs her shadow, then it’s fine.


	21. Author's Note

**_So, as you can see, this is… not a chapter. This is me, admitting something to you all – not that anyone really reads this stuff, I’ve learned. Now, I’m really only posting because it’s kind of therapeutic for me and it lets me get out ideas that are bugging my brain._ **

****

**_My co-author and I haven’t spoken since… April, I believe. I have no idea where he is, what he’s up to, or anything. If he’s even bothering to pay attention to the things he helped to write, then I have some vain hope he’ll read this and at least talk to me one more time so I can find out what happened after he just disappeared one day. If not, then I suppose this is foolish and it won’t matter – but I’m not… angry with him. I’m frustrated. God, I’m frustrated._ **

****

**_But the point of this isn’t to vent my frustration. That’s a private matter, and I’ll continue to deal with it on my own time, by myself._ **

****

**_The point of this is to inform you – or whomever cares enough to read this – that I do intend to continue the series that my co-author and I wrote, to my best ability. The Mianite GoM series WILL continue, even past what he and I wrote up together. I will also be continuing to credit him as the co-author of the series, even if he and I never speak again. I want to take this moment to pre-emptively stress to you all that I don’t want to discuss any personal matters about him, and I won’t out of respect for him as a person and as a friend. Let’s just leave it at the fact that he’s left for reasons even I don’t know, and that’s that. You don’t need to know anything else, unless I’m made aware and told it’s alright to share with you._ **

****

**_My co-author was such an integral part of the GoM series. Lara, Jace, and Polaris have developed past what I originally intended for them to be. Jay – and the other characters that he independently created, or ones we jointly created – were wonderful additions to the series and will be honored and respected as I continue to write for them in his absence. I will continue to do my best to do the works that he helped me to write justice, even if it gets emotionally stressful to do it. Truth be told, I’m tearing up just writing this because I’ve missed my friend for months._ **

****

**_The series that will be continuing are the GoM series (one-shots and main), and the Minecraft Skins one. I will be putting up our Charmed-verse starting hopefully in November at some point, and will be attempting to continue that until I run out of ideas for it. As it stands thus far, from what he and I wrote together, I can form three different stories. I will be attempting to put up our Lorien Legacies-verse story at some point._ **

****

**_The only storyline I’m uncertain as to whether or not it will be posted – or if I will just post it and leave it on an indefinite hiatus when it reaches the end of what we wrote together – is something we wrote based on an Assassin’s Creed-esque style. That’s due to the fact that I have very few ideas or plans for that story._ **

****

**_I believe I mentioned at some point during the second GoM main series story that my co-author and I have up to four different main stories in the GoM series written, two of which have been posted to completion, one which will begin in November, and one that he left while we were likely at the end of writing. I have taken the liberty upon myself to finish the fourth one in anticipation over the last month when I decided that it was likely he would not be returning to assist me in writing it._ **

****

**_Outside of those, though, he and I had discussed three other ideas for additional stories. The first story we discussed was a crossover between the Charmed-verse and the GoM series; the second was a prequel to the GoM series discussing the background and lore of the series; and the third was a soft of reference to the second season of Mianite, in which it would explore the Guardians in that version of the story in comparison to the regular Guardians, and be a sequel to the fourth story in the series. I intend to use those ideas to progress the main story when the time comes, and to add a bit of excitement into the series._ **

****

**_After that? Well… we’ll see what happens when things happen. This was never in my plans, but these things occur and I’ll have to adapt now. I just wanted to make everyone aware, and once again stress that I will continue on out of respect and honor for what my co-author helped and encouraged me to create._ **


	22. Hatchlings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s happy to be a mother, though. When she’d been young, she’d refused to return the not-eggs to Jordan because it felt important for her to have them and shelter them. She’d slept with them every single night until she got too big, and then Lara had occasionally snuck a moa egg from the Aether – an abandoned one – in order for her to be allowed to cradle something. When she’d met QuickSilver, all of those fancies were gone. They were replaced with mating desires and the need to be around her mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Adorableness? Is adorableness a warning?

There’s just something that makes Polaris unsettled about seeing her hatchlings outside of their nest.

 

She’s not sure what it is, but it’s _something_ – and that something is powerful enough to lead her to scoop up her babies and place them back in their nest of blankets and pillows. Inevitably, they wander again and she has to drag them back to their nest, but she does it without failure once they get far enough away that the _something_ comes over her again.

 

QuickSilver is more relaxed about the whole thing, as he usually is. Her mate is quiet and lets the children wander further, oft times even stepping in Polaris’ way when she tries to make a grab for them. “They’re children, Polly,” he always says, “they need to explore and play. You need to let them. I know it’s hard for you to do.”

 

Of _course_ it’s hard for her. She carried her eggs for a month, stuck in dragon-form for the duration, before laying them, and then waited two more months for her babies to hatch. The duration of that time was spent trying to ward Jordan away from the tree and trying to visit Lara and Jay because, really, they’re hopeless sometimes without someone to keep them grounded. That, and Jay’s been having a rough time adapting to his current surroundings – but, the point is, screw Jay, screw Lara, screw Jordan. Babies.

 

She’s happy to be a mother, though. When she’d been young, she’d refused to return the not-eggs to Jordan because it felt important for her to have them and shelter them. She’d slept with them every single night until she got too big, and then Lara had occasionally snuck a moa egg from the Aether – an abandoned one – in order for her to be allowed to cradle something. When she’d met QuickSilver, all of those fancies were gone. They were replaced with mating desires and the need to be around her mate.

 

QuickSilver had approached her shortly after the whole ordeal with Void five years ago and decided to suggest that they settle down together – properly. They had started trying for a family after that moment. It had felt so natural, honestly. For her, it was instinct to want a family, and suddenly those feelings with the not-eggs had made sense.

 

Polaris knew that Jinx would talk about how wonderful and comforting it was to be pregnant, but Jinx would always stress that it was her opinion and that Polaris should consider her own feelings toward the event. Lara seemed stressed over her pregnancy, but that was likely due to the additional stress that came with wanting to protect Jay, as well as the stress of her unborn children treating her like a puppet.

 

But Polaris had difficulties, unlike her friends. Jinx had gotten pregnant immediately upon sleeping with Dianite. Lara had gotten pregnant for the first attempt, but her bloodline likely made it easy for her. Polaris didn’t have Lara’s advantage, or Jinx’s luck. Polaris had instinct and desire, but no ability. It had been with Jay’s obnoxious help and Ianite’s guidance that Polaris and QuickSilver had gotten lucky enough to have just the right moon cycle to get pregnant. After that, everything had gone simply – and the rest had been unimportant up to the birth of their children.

 

QuickSilver still jokes about her failure to come up with ‘clever’ names for the triplets. Their daughter’s name is Kaida; the boys are Draco and Drakon (Drake for short). Kaida has developed traits of both of them, with one silver eye and the other being a brilliant purple-pink like Polaris’. Drake has silver eyes like his father, and Draco has purple ones like his mother. The boys have strange scales. While Kaida has pure purple-black scales like Polaris and QuickSilver, the boys have silver and purple scales. Draco has purple scales with patches of silver on his spine, wings, and snout; Drake has just the inverse.

 

In mannerism, Drake is the most like his father. Drakon is quiet, but not timid. He lingers daringly at the edges of Polaris’ range of safety, but he’s the first to wander back on his own accord. Polaris is content in trusting her silver-eyed little one is going to be fine in the big, bad world when he gets older. Draco, however, is daring and boisterous. He doesn’t learn to walk on his feet as much as he learns to barrel headfirst out of the reach of his mother’s limitations. Polaris is up to chase him before she finds the necessity to go after either of his siblings. Kaida is the nosiest and the noisiest of the triplets. She wants to be involved in everything, but she also wants to be the instigator. She’s the least able to be distracted by play fighting.

 

Despite her worries, Polaris is content. She doesn’t quite snap at Jordan as much when he approaches the nest. The triplets, who will be in dragon-form until they learn to change their forms, seem to consider the Mianitee to be just another member of their flock. They nip at Jordan’s fingers and his hair, and he teaches them how roughly they can play with a mortal by allowing them to wrestle with him. They’re still little enough that their claws and teeth won’t harm him much, even if they tried to hurt him. When Jinx and Dianite, or Jace, bring Eris over, the triplets are instantly attracted to their elder ‘cousin.’ Eris shows them the tricks Dianite and Jinx have taught her, and the triplets show off their tiny meow-like roars and their ‘ferocious’ snaps. Eris never seems to consider them a real threat, but she always plays along.

 

Polaris is happy. Snuggled up in the nest with her mate and her wild, rambunctious children, she’s relaxed. This is the way life should be. This is what her instincts have screamed at her to have and hold since her childhood. It feel so wonderful to be able to settle with her family, and for weeks, it has been so strange to think of life without this.


	23. Happy Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Happy anniversary.”
> 
> Lara looks up when Jay kisses her cheek, snapping her attention away from what she’d been doing. With Jay in the house, she’d yet to find a quiet moment to move her attention back to a present she’d been making for him, so she’s currently just sorting through a bushel of apples she’d picked earlier during the day, trying to seem busy. Jay is wearing extremely nice clothes, and a sinking feeling washes over her that she won’t have the time to finish his present if he’s about to do what she thinks he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None

“Happy anniversary.”

 

Lara looks up when Jay kisses her cheek, snapping her attention away from what she’d been doing. With Jay in the house, she’d yet to find a quiet moment to move her attention back to a present she’d been making for him, so she’s currently just sorting through a bushel of apples she’d picked earlier during the day, trying to seem busy. Jay is wearing extremely nice clothes, and a sinking feeling washes over her that she won’t have the time to finish his present if he’s about to do what she thinks he is.

 

“How about a date? Polaris fixed up the ship again, and it’s nicer out today than it was on our last date. I mean, I didn’t mind having you sitting in my lap and being that close, but at least you won’t be afraid of the thunder this time,” he says.

 

She huffs quietly. “It wasn’t the thunder that scared me, Jay – it was the idea of what could have been causing all of that noise. I worried Mianite would interrupt.”

 

Jay smirks teasingly. “Oh, yeah, I’ll bet. That’s why you jumped into my arms and tried to seduce me.”

 

“I didn’t try. I succeeded,” she reminds.

 

His smirk fades into a relaxed, soft smile. “I’m happy your sense of humor has gotten better.”

 

She nods, but then turns back to the apples. “I have things to do, though. How about we have our date tonight, and you let me do what I need to for the rest of the afternoon? I’ll be ready by nightfall. I just need to finish up a few little things.”

 

Jay seems mildly disappointed, but she knows that his hopes haven’t been _completely_ thwarted. She’s just asking him to wait, not to reschedule. It appears that’s enough for him to still be excited to the point where, despite his shoulders drooping slightly, he’s light on his feet. She offers him an affectionate smile.

 

“Go prank Tom or something. I’ll meet you at the ship when the moon starts to rise,” she suggests, “I promise you.” He nods and drops into a portal.

 

As soon as he’s gone, Lara sets the bushel down and reaches underneath the bed, pulling out her present for him. She shifts it in her hands, weighing the long pole attached to the iron-crafted scythe blade. Jace had suggested making Jay a scythe as a joke, but she’d found the idea acceptable. After all, she was slowly learning about the different bloodlines – and the one Jay was part of was called the ‘Death’ bloodline, despite having no immediate connection to death itself.

 

Satisfied with the pole for the moment, she turned her attention back to the blade, drawing a finger along the sharpened edge. It wasn’t sharp enough yet. As much as she somewhat hated to put a sharp weapon into his hands at risk he would hurt himself or someone else, she knew Jay was cautious when using weapons and that he’d likely enjoy something that would prove its worth over something that was just meant to look nice. She wasn’t much of a fighter herself, but Jay had been raised to fight. Having a worthless weapon wouldn’t be something he’d probably like.

 

She got to her feet and walked out into the backyard. She circled a large rock, drawing the curved edge of the scythe’s blade against the rock and began to sharpen it. It doesn’t take too long before she pulls the scythe away again and runs her finger over the blade. She pulls away from it after a second, wincing. A thin red line runs from a new cut across her skin, and as it heals over, she smiles.

 

“Now… how to get it stronger…” She hums, and then calls quietly, “Abyss, come here for a moment, please.”

 

The Higher God appears and glances over at her, an amused look on his face. She supposes she must look funny – a pacifist like herself, holding a large, long, sharp scythe. He chuckles and she huffs, lowering the scythe.

 

“It’s not for me,” she says immediately, “now, could you help me?”

 

“With what, girlie?” He asks, snickering still.

 

“I want to get this infused with darkness, but I can’t enter the Void myself to do so,” she explains, “I can alter the energy that it contains after, but I can’t do anything until it has that energy. Could you, perhaps, handle that?”

 

Abyss holds out his hand and takes the scythe, testing it in his hands. “For someone who doesn’t like fighting, you’re craft is excellent.”

 

Lara smirks. “Was that a _compliment_ I just heard?”

 

“Nope,” he corrects, popping the ‘p’ sound, reaching out to pat her on the head with his free hand, “That was a ‘wow, I’m surprised you’re actually good at that since you fight horribly, kiddo!’ As soon as somebody gets past that bark of yours, you’re just a puppy with her tail between her legs.”

 

Lara scowls. “Ha-ha, very _funny_ ,” she growls, tossing a small burst of light of toward him. He vanishes before the light can even get close, giddy laughter hanging in the air even after he’s gone.

 

She walks back inside and sits down on the bed, waiting a few moments until Abyss reappears. He hands her the scythe. “One supped-up weapon,” he says, “now where’s my payment?”

 

“Payment? Oh. Right,” Lara replies. “You get to say you helped me make Jay a very lovely weapon. That’s your payment.”

 

“That’s not a reward for me,” he counters.

 

“Well, I didn’t promise you a reward, now did I?” She retorts.

 

“I’m pretty sure I heard ‘Abyss, I will reward you kindly.’”

 

“I’m confident you didn’t.”

 

“Nope. Pretty sure I did.”

 

“No.”

 

 _“Abyss, you will be rewarded kindly,”_ he mind-speaks at her, voice a horrible mockery of her own. The pitch is too high and squeaky, and all it earns is a laugh from Lara as she hears it.

 

She carefully coaxes the Void energy out of the scythe and reworks it, twisting and turning parts of it until its circling the scythe in a more elegant manner. Solid curves build themselves onto the scythe, coiling around it. At each coil is a sharpened point, creating edges and blades along the outside of the scythe to protect the weapon. Darkness stains the base of the iron-made blade, dripping down to the far edge of the scythe and turning into a slightly darker silver where it stops.

 

She holds it up to Abyss, who hums in appreciation. “I stand to my words, kiddo. For someone who prefers not to fight, you make nice weapons,” he offers.

 

“I only hope Jay will like it,” she murmurs. “If not, it’s been a waste to make.”

 

“I’m sure he will. The kid seems to like anything you make. Surprised he hasn’t tried to convince you to make babies,” he says.

 

She sets the scythe down, satisfied that it’s been finished. “I couldn’t. I’m a Guardian, not a goddess – and I’m not of the same bloodline. Mine doesn’t have that power at just any point.”

 

Abyss shakes his head. “You can still have children.”

 

“I…” Lara trails off and gets to her feet. “I have to get ready, Abyss. The sun’s beginning to set and I promised to meet Jay for a date by nightfall. Thank you for your help. If I can think of something, I’ll repay you – but for now, my thanks will have to be enough. Good night, Abyss.”

 

“Good night, girlie. Have a good night out,” he offers, sounding a bit distracted. “I have… places to see.”

 

He vanishes before Lara can ask what he means. She stares for a moment longer at where he’d been standing, and then shakes her head to brush aside concerns. She changes into a dress and then grabs the scythe, walking out of the house and to the ship.

 

 

Jay is waiting for her outside and her heart races. She can’t hide the scythe, but luckily, he’s turned away, looking at the ship like he’s trying to make sure it looks perfect. Lara can feel the energy solidified on the scythe changing. It sinks and bristles, taking on new shapes that she doesn’t dare look at. She’s not focused enough to force it back to its design, so she can only hope that it looks nice still.

 

“Handsome,” she calls.

 

Jay turns to look at her, smiling, and then his eyes look behind her. “Lara, what’s that?”

 

“This?” She asks, moving the scythe into his view. His eyes follow it. Lara wants to smile because it looks so beautiful and the blade shimmers in the light, even underneath all of the darkness infused in it. “I made this for you. Abyss helped put some energy from the Void into it so you’ll always feel a bit stronger with it in your hands, but I—” She cuts herself off, clears her throat quietly, and offers it to him. “I hope you like it.”

 

Jay walks over, taking the weapon from her. He swings it around twice, nearly bouncing on his heels when it makes a satisfying sound as it slices through the air. She smiles at the look on his face.

 

“I love it,” he says. “Thanks. Uh… we should go inside. Polaris will be upset if we do what we did last time and not eat anything she prepares for us.”

 

She nods. “Happy anniversary, Jay.”

 

He smiles, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her toward the ship. “Happy anniversary, Lara.”


	24. The Medium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your name is Declan Pitts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None
> 
> (Note: Declan, even in this series, is considered a priest, but this works under the implication that he's known as The Priest because he went on to take that as an occupation. Declan is considered to be a medium in this series due to the reason given here.)

Your name is Declan Pitts.

 

You grew up in one of the villagers far from where you currently live. As a child, you’d been part of a religious home. Your parents worshipped the gods, and from what you’d heard, some of your oldest relatives had been involved with the ones who came before the gods. You’d not been able to belief there was anything older than the three gods (myths spoke of two more, but you never learned about them outside of stories everyone call fabrications). It hadn’t been far from expectations that, when you’d started developing… gifts, you were held on a pedestal.

 

For six years of your life, you had been normal. A religious little boy with a religious little family in a religious little village. Before your seventh year of life, nothing about you had been extraordinary. You were just an average kid who was reading gospel before bedtime and when you woke, and maybe you wanted to become someone important when you grew up. What child didn’t? Your father would give you sermons about the different gods. Your mother would read you books about them. Your siblings and friends would join you in games meant to show loyalty to all of the different gods.

 

But when you turned seven that changed. When you turned seven, you started to hear hushed whispers and see things that the others couldn’t. Just at the edge of your vision, you would see glowing lights and waves of power. The Nether would purr welcomingly to you, where it would hiss and snarl at others. You had pinpointed an exact location of a Stronghold without even knowing what the building would look like, or what signs to look for.

 

The village had held you in such a high regard after that. Your parents were praised for raising a devout child, so much so that you had been told the words and sights were gifts from the gods for your studies. In hindsight, you don’t really think it has anything to do with being loyal to the gods. As you’d been taught, your ancestors had always had a close relationship with the gods and others like them. Perhaps it’s a strange inheritance that had passed over your parents and your siblings that allows you the things it does. Regardless, you were treated differently after others found out what you could do – and it wasn’t always for the better.

 

One October, two beings had come to the village. You had never met them before, but the older villagers bowed to them and welcomed them with smiles and opened arms. One was a young woman, and the other was a young man. You could see light blossoming in their chests – gold in the woman’s and red in the man’s. Behind each of them were a pair of wings, and attached to the end of the man’s spine was a tail, which flittered about idly behind him – until he had spotted you.

 

“Hey, Lara, come look at this little guy,” the man had called, flying over to you. “Been a while since we’ve met somebody like you, kid.”

 

“Jace, stop it. You’re going to frighten the poor child,” the woman scolded, stepping over to her companion’s side. “Hello, little one.”

 

“Hello, Miss, Sir,” you’d replied, as you’d learned was only polite to do. “What are you doing in our village?”

 

The woman had smiled at you. “We’ve come to protect this place. During this night, many of the mobs are incredibly active. You’ve noticed in previous years, have you not?” You nodded and she continued, “the gods have shown interest in this village as of late.”

 

“I’ll bet you’re why,” Jace chimed in. “A kid like you is a beacon for bad things.”

 

“Jace.”

 

“Lara, you can’t tell me you haven’t felt it. Look at him. He’s a medium.”

 

“Just because he’s one of them, it doesn’t mean you need to frighten him. He’s going to feel guilty if bad things do occur tonight thanks to what you just told him. It’s not his fault his lineage is so pure.”

 

“Pure lineage? Beacon? Medium?” You interrupted, drawing both of their attention to yourself. “What does all of that mean? What am I?”

 

The woman had kicked off of the ground to hover next to Jace. “A medium is someone with the ability to communicate with otherworldly beings. In your case, it would be the gods and ourselves,” she explained, “mediums are visible to all forms of life with the ability to sense energy. The mobs have likely been drawn to you more so than they are to any other living being, even tonight. They may not be as actively sentient as yourself and us, but they are intelligent enough to know that they must end your life before the gods are able to find you.”

 

Jace shrugged. “But we found you, so you’re safe now. As long as we’re around, neither of us are gonna let anything happen to you.”

 

Lara nodded in agreement, and you had looked between them, confused still. “What did you mean by my ‘lineage is so pure?’”

 

“Your family history is mixed with that of our creators. Mediums are only born to families like that, and they’re born to serve the gods – be it one or all that they serve,” she answered patiently.

 

You nodded at her again. Jace turned as the night began to fall, taking off to watch from the sky as the mobs began to stir. Lara watched him go before returning her attention to you. You studied her for a long moment. You had known, even then, what she was. Your father had taught you of the creatures made to serve under the gods. They were called Guardians, and were considered by many to be known as the gods’ children. Before now, though, you had never had the experience to meet one of them.

 

“What’s your name?” Lara asked.

 

“Declan Pitts,” you had answered.

 

“Declan, I hope you aren’t afraid of us,” she’d said, “I fear that will only make your life more difficult. If you ever need for anything, send prayers to the gods.”

 

That had ended your first meeting with the Guardians. Lara had flown off after that, and with the moon beginning to rise into the night sky, you had been ushered back to your home. You had difficulty sleeping that night, though. You can remember staying up, watching out of your bedroom window as Jace sent balls of fire in the direction of zombies and skeletons, and as Lara weaved through creeper blasts and arrows. You had listened to whispers praising them the entire night, until you had fallen asleep to the hushed voices of gods. It had been memorizing to see, and there are still nights where it is.


	25. Down -- Songfic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Lara, you, uh, want to go out to dinner?”
> 
> (Song: Down by Jay Sean)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Minor adult themes (spanking, implied sexual themes)  
> One swear

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

_Down, down_

_Ooh, ooh_

Jay knocked on Lara’s door. He was wearing a tux and had with him a bouquet of roses. He’d gone all out and aimed to hit all of the stops, even going so far as to brush out his wings when he had his hair. Lara opened the door, wearing her Guardian robes still. Simple, but she made it work, in his opinion.

 

“Hey, Lara, you, uh, want to go out to dinner?”

 

She blinked at him, closing the door after giving an affectionate smile. He rocked on his heels patiently, waiting for her to get ready. When she walked outside again, he noticed that her wings were anxiously twitching. She had changed out of her robes and into a blue dress – likely bought for her by Sonja. It looked beautiful all the same, as he expected. He smiled, handing her the roses. She took them and offered another smile. Her smile was good enough for him.

 

A deep rumbling went through the clouds. Jay looked up and a drop of rain hit him on the nose. Lara couldn’t hold in her laughter. As he conjured an umbrella and held it up over the two of them, his heart fluttered. Maybe it was raining, but the night was already so perfect. He had successfully gotten a date with Lara, made her smile, made her laugh, and she seemed to appreciate the flowers. So far, it was going great.

 

“I hope your plans aren’t ruined,” she commented.

 

“It’s just a little rain,” Jay answered.

 

Lara rolled her eyes at him, turning her gaze then up to the sky. He could tell by her sudden expression change that she was silently cursing the weather, and perhaps the force he suspected was behind the ominous storm. “A little? It sounds like it’s going to storm,” she countered.

 

He rolled his eyes. “You worry too much,” he commented.

 

_You ought to know (know, know)_

_Tonight is the night to let it go_

_Put on a show (show, show)_

_I wanna see how you lose control_

He stopped leading her when they got to the ship. “My humble abode,” he said with a smirk, flourishing his arm in the direction of the ship. It was well-lit and securely docked. With a little help from Polaris, he had managed to steal it a while ago and had recently gotten in set up to look like a nice, little restaurant.

 

He opened the door and allowed her to step inside ahead of him. As he followed, he dropped the umbrella into a nearby shadow, watching as it disappeared into the Void. It had served its purpose. Hopefully, they would be able to ride of the storm inside. He wanted to stay out of the rain – and out of the reach of lightning strikes – as best as he could.

 

“Right this way,” Polaris offered with a smile, walking toward another room.

 

“Of course,” Lara said politely, following.

 

Jay walked along beside her, thankful that Polaris had come along as well. It was good not to be alone – and having someone there who would support him? That was kind of a plus. Polaris was of Ianite’s creation, which meant she was the least likely to cause any unnecessary trouble for him during the date, and the most likely to be of actual help wooing Lara. Jace would’ve been talking his ear off trying to give him ‘helpful tips,’ and the Mianitees probably would’ve just been in the mood to tease him all night – even Jordan.

 

Lara’s gaze fell to him and Jay stood up a bit straighter, eager to make a good impression. “I’m actually impressed,” she commented, earning a wary smile from Jay as she continued, “you’ve managed something without causing trouble.”

 

She raised a brow and added jokingly, “Who are you, and what have you done with Jay?”

 

“Very funny,” he replied.

_So leave it behind 'cause we have a night to get away (away, away)_

_So come on and fly with me as we make our great escape (escape, escape)_

 

Polaris led them into the dining area, stopping in front of a table set up with two glasses, as well as a bottle of wine and one of water. Jay moved forward, pulling Lara’s chair out. She smiled, sitting down, and he sat across from her. When she poured a glass of water, Jay smiled. He took the bottle and poured himself one as well, pushing aside the bottle of wine.

 

“I do mean it, though, Jay,” she said, “This is… nice. Something nice and quiet, without trouble or hassle. Just us.”

 

He raised his glass. “This opportunity deserves a toast.”

 

Lara tapped her glass against his, laughing softly. Jay let out a tiny chuckle before taking a sip. “I look forward to the next time we can do this.”

 

“I look forward to it, too,” she agreed, before glancing around and humming quietly. When she returned her attention to him, her smile was softer. Content. “I’m almost glad I didn’t take you up on that offer originally. You’ve had more time to think and prepare.”

 

He shrugged. “I suppose. Only the best for you.”

 

_So, baby, don't worry_

_You are my only_

_You won't be lonely_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

_You'll be my only_

_No need to worry_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

He glanced around the room, breathing in and out and focusing on that. He could hear the rain so clearly as it hit the ground and the outside of the ship. He could hear Polaris in the kitchen, trying to prepare the meal he’d asked her to cook before he’d even dared to ask Lara to join him. He’d put all of his trust into her agreement that he hadn’t even planned for what to do if she had chosen to decline. It made him overjoyed that she had accepted – and the fact that she was having a good time made it all the better.

 

He just hoped that it wasn’t a—

 

An ear-splitting boom of thunder cracked from outside. From the corner of his eye, Jay swore he saw Lara jump – but it must have been his imagination. When he turned fully to face her, he could see her wings trying to relax. They were puffed up slightly, like an ocelot’s fur when it was angry or afraid. Other than that and the fact that she was slowly relaxing her shoulders, though, Lara looked perfectly calm.

 

“Sorry,” he offered. “I was half-expecting to wake up. This seems like a dream come true.”

 

“If this is a dream, I suppose we should be grateful to be sharing it,” she told him, before offering a sheepish smile. “The thunder is a bit of an… unwanted addition, however.”

 

“Always darkest before dawn. Hell, we need some dawn. But for now, don’t worry about that. Enjoy this,” he muttered to her, reaching across the table to grab her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze.

 

She smiled a bit, shoulders relaxing a bit more as her wings managed to settle. Her thumb rubbed circles in the side of his hand, which very likely was a tool she was using to distract herself from the constant pitter-patter of rain outside. It made him wonder even more if she was afraid of the storm, or afraid of what was causing it.

 

“Your hand is warm,” she commented, “have you been that nervous about asking me?”

 

“Me? Nervous? As if.”

 

Lightning struck the ground, creating a loud snap that caused Jay to recoil as it illuminated the night sky. The noise was incredibly loud – and likely a sign from Mianite to tell him off for getting so close to the god’s precious Guardian.

 

Jay scooted a bit closer to Lara’s side of the table. “Don’t let it get to your head now.”

 

_Just let it be_

_Come on and bring your body next to me_

_I'll take you away (hey)_

_Turn this place into our private getaway_

 

“Don’t?” She asked, laughing nervously as she reached up. Jay could see her trying to flatten feathers that were clearly sticking up. “D-Don’t let what get t-to my head…? I-I’m not scared.”

 

“Me, being nervous. But asking you, who wouldn’t be?” He replied, idly aware that Polaris had, at some point, brought food and placed it down for them. Lara seemed to be ignoring her plate and, admittedly, so was he. He was only hungry for the presence of the person sitting across from him, even as he scooted closer and closer to her. The food was likely going to remain untouched.

 

“I didn’t realize that I was that intimidating,” she told him. “You do realize Jace is the one what has claws and needs to grind his teeth down with a sword every few months in order to look as normal as he does.”

 

Jay chuckled. He realized how close they were when one of Lara’s wings managed to reach out, entwining itself with one of his. It was just proof that Lara longed for the closeness as much as he did. He gratefully curled his wing around hers, tangling them together carefully.

 

_So leave it behind 'cause we have a night to get away (away, away)_

_So come on and fly with me as we make our great escape_

_So why don't we run away?_

 

“Writing that down. But no, I meant you’re beautiful,” he stated bluntly, wing locking with hers comfortably as he watched her cheeks redden shyly. It felt symbolic somehow – like an omen. This time, maybe a good one. “You get me tongue-tied when I’m with you.”

 

“We’re not even eating. You planned this entire dinner for us, and yet, we’re not eating it,” she pointed out.

 

Jay could feel her relaxing into his touch, leaning into it in a way that screamed of her comfort. To him, her wing was warm. It fit in just the right place, like the other half of him. He wanted desperately to embrace that feeling and never let go of it, but he didn’t dare be so forward when he knew very well that Lara tended to shy away from spontaneous movements because they exhausted her quickly.

 

“I planned this dinner for us to get closer. Are we not doing that?” He asked, bravely and daringly trailing his fingers along the lower feathers of her wing. He felt her shiver against his touch, but when she didn’t pull away and only blushed a bit more, he realized it was a shiver of pleasure.

 

“We could—could’ve done that at a house,” she reminded.

 

Jay traced the borders of the wing slowly, humming a tune and scooting closer as he did so. He traced up to the area where her wing met her back, stopping his hand there. “Jace wouldn’t like that. Us, on the bed. Alone. He’d throw a tantrum.”

 

“You think he’d like this better?” She asked, closing her eyes and leaning back into his touch, breath catching for a moment in her throat.

 

_So, baby, don't worry_

_You are my only_

_You won't be lonely_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

_You'll be my only_

_No need to worry_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

She took a moment to compose her breathing before she continued, “Or that I care what my little brother thinks? Let him throw one. The mortals can clean it up. I’ve cleaned up enough of their messes.”

 

Jay was about to smirk at her sudden bravery and flirtatiousness, but he stopped, thoughts interrupted by a flash of lightning and a long, loud boom of thunder. Lara yelped, unhooking their wings. He was about to feel very upset about the loss of the touch, but to his surprise, Lara darted forward, placing herself in his arms, hiding her face in the collar of his suit.

 

“Gods, no…!”

 

He smiled softly, rubbing her back, and pulled her into his lap to rock her back and forth. “You’ll be my only, so no need to worry,” he soothed quietly, before chuckling quietly. “That outburst was unexpected, Lara. Who knew you had a rebellious streak?”

 

“I have a rebellious streak,” she repeated in a voice falsely serious, tone dangerously lingering on joking. He could feel her heart still hammering in her chest, and her warm breath on his neck was almost to die for. “That’s amusing, coming from the one created to kill the gods, and instead, at dinner with the daughter of one.”

 

His eyes lit up mischievously. “True enough. And you, oh goody-two-shoes angel of Mianite, sitting here with a literal personification of the Void?” He fake gasped, lowering his voice to a whisper to add, “maybe you should be punished.”

 

“Oh?” She laughed, pulling back and grabbing the front of his suit. “And how, Heir of the Void, do you intend to do that? In such a compromised position?”

 

_Down like she's supposed to be_

_She gets down low for me_

_Down like her temperature_

_'Cause to me she's zero degrees_

_She's cold, over freeze_

_I got that girl from overseas_

_Now she's my Miss America_

_Now can I be her soldier, please?_

He leant down and captured her lips with his. To his delight, she returned his kiss as passionately as he had offered it. After the need for oxygen became too great, he pulled back. His heart was roaring against his ribcage, beating fast enough and hard enough that he wondered how it hadn’t yet burst through his chest. Based on Lara’s red cheeks and slightly heavier breathing, he could only assume she felt the same. Something like electricity was dancing between them.

 

“Compromising?” He challenged, daringly running his hands down her sides. His touch was teasingly fleeting. “I seem to like this position.”

 

She hummed at him. “I don’t,” she scolded.

 

Her foot made contact with the floor, and before Jay knew it, the chair was toppling over backwards. Thankfully, the back of the chair was cushioned and tall enough that it protected his skull from the fall, but it was still an odd feeling. Even odder was the fact that straddling him now, looking quite pleased with herself, was still Lara. He quietly prayed to whichever god was blessing him with this moment that it wasn’t going to just be a dream. He wanted to see this side of Lara – this playful, flirtatious side of her that was otherwise masked by the cool, composed Guardian who was so overly nurturing that she seemed unable to care for herself first.

 

Lara let out something akin to a purr and leaned down, biting his bottom lip. When she released it, she smirked down at him. “The floor is much more comfortable.”

 

“Maybe the bed would be best,” he whispered to her as he lifted her up and carried her bridal style to his bedroom in the ship.

 

As he passed, he swore he heard Polaris letting out tiny giggles before the human-formed dragoness happily went to fetch their untouched meals, likely not upset that things had gone the way they had. Jay would have to remember to make it up to her somehow. Now, though, other things were on his mind. Thing pertaining to Lara, and only Lara.

 

He kicked the door shut and fell backward on the bed, listening as Lara laughed quietly as he landed with her carefully atop him. His heart still felt aflutter, and in his mind, he was just pleading not to wake up from this moment. He knew Lara was in her right mind, and he liked this. If this was how comfortable she was with him, then he couldn’t find a reason to protest.

 

“Ooh? Not so scared of Jace’s tantrums now?” She teased, stretching her wings as she rolled over to straddle his hips. Her wings folded nicely behind her again. Her hair fell in front of her face, but she pushed it out of her eyes.

 

“Now… where were we?” She mused, smirking and finding the way to get his top off of him. “Ah, yes. The Heir of the Void thinks himself so mighty that he could punish me? Hardly. You’d barely keep up with me long enough to catch me.”

 

“The spoiled Child of Mianite believes herself above punishment? Parents aren’t the only ones able to give spankings,” he joked, raising an eyebrow at the woman above him.

_I'm fighting for this girl on the battlefield of love_

_Got me look like baby Cupid_

_Sending arrows from above_

_Don't you ever leave the side of me_

_Indefinitely, not probably_

_And honestly I'm down like that economy (Yeah)_

She leaned down and kissed him, pulling away for oxygen when necessary. “Above it? No,” she informed, “but, as you can see, the Void will always be below the Overworld.”

 

He smirked. “I think it’s the Void’s turn.”

 

Before she could say anything, he captured her around the waist and flipped them both over, keeping a hand on her stomach to keep her still. She didn’t seem to mind it. If anything, she seemed playfully defiant. She wiggled a bit, but when he moved his hand in a circle on her belly, she still again, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes.

 

“Get cocky about a spanking now,” he teased.

 

“I’m sorry, did you say something about me being feisty made me – what was it? – a ‘keeper’?” She reminded. She reached up with a wing and batted gently at his head with it. “You ought to be used to feisty and cocky from me by now. You won’t survive in the Overworld without those things.”

 

His smirk got a bit larger. “Fine. You made me do this…” He flipped her around onto her back and added, “any last words?”

 

“Begging does not befit a Guardian, so no,” she answered, “nothing.”

 

Her wings drew upward, pressing one against either of his sides. “Except that I will get my revenge,” she warned jokingly.

 

He snickered. “Who knows, you might like it.”

 

He brought his hand down against her rear – firm and hard enough to hear, but not painful. At first, she squirmed a bit and made a quiet gasp of surprise. He waited a beat, just in case she wanted to flee. When she didn’t try to escape, he brought his hand down again, with the same intention – and then a few more times. As he did it, he felt her wings rub up against his ribs, almost as though they were soothing him as he did and telling him that she wasn’t upset or in pain.

 

“Big and touch now, are we?” He challenged.

 

She laughed at him and moved her wings away from his sides, pumping them once to allow her to get a burst of speed. She caught one of his wrists, spinning him so that his back pressed against the bed again. His wrists were immediately pinned against the bed above his head. Jay knew he couldn’t match her speed, and she had taken clear advantage of the fact that he had been off-guard in order to pin him. Keeping one hand to steel his wrists against the bed, she leaned down and trailed kisses from his chin to his collar.

 

“Oh yes,” she challenged in return, “I am.”

 

“Really? This is nothing you can do. I’m unbreakable,” he gloated. “Just to think. The Mianitee is not as pure as she appears. I love it, honestly.”

 

_So, baby, don't worry_

_You are my only_

_You won't be lonely_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

_You'll be my only_

_No need to worry_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Baby, are you down, down, down, down, down, down?_

_Down, down_

_Even if the sky is falling down_

Suddenly, it was as though a flip had been switched. Lara sat up, releasing his wrists, and got off of the bed. “Get out,” she said coldly.

 

He raised a brow. “Hang on. Rude. Secondly, let me get my shirt.”

 

She shook her head, grabbed his hand, and pulled him up. “No, you’re leaving now.”

 

He snickered, not sure what to make of her sudden change of behavior. “Because, why? Mad that sticks and stones may break your bones, but chains and whips excite you?” He teased.

 

“Because filthy liars don’t belong in my bed,” she answered with a smirk, “and, what a shame, I thought we were having a moment.”

 

“Filthy liars? I don’t recall lying. Whoop de fucking doo, though,” he grumbled, slamming the door shut and taking his leave, dodging stray lightning bolts that were likely not as stray as they appeared.

 

He sat atop the ship’s roof, and realized shortly after that he had left Lara in _his_ bed – but, to be honest, that was fine. Because Lara was pretty damn scary sometimes.

 

(In hindsight, he learned from Lara that it had been his ‘unbreakable’ remark that had prompted her drastic change in behavior. She had proceeded to tell him that “Darling, you wish. You just broke,” and thanked him for letting her sleep in his bed.)


	26. Troublesome Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marionette glances over as two little heads disappear behind one of the stands in Ludio. He, himself, is busy sorting through magical artifacts and planning what to do with the newest additions to his collection. He’d not been expecting for his mother to arrive with two children nestled against her sides and ask him to watch over them because she couldn’t. He’d wondered, then, why Atropos and the other ladies hadn’t been asked – at the very least to watch the female twin – instead of himself, but the answer his mother had given to him had been simple.
> 
> “I don’t trust them with these two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None

Brats, the both of them.

 

Marionette glances over as two little heads disappear behind one of the stands in Ludio. He, himself, is busy sorting through magical artifacts and planning what to do with the newest additions to his collection. He’d not been expecting for his mother to arrive with two children nestled against her sides and ask him to watch over them because she couldn’t. He’d wondered, then, why Atropos and the other ladies hadn’t been asked – at the very least to watch the female twin – instead of himself, but the answer his mother had given to him had been simple.

 

“I don’t trust them with these two.”

 

When she’d left, the little boy and girl had taken to exploring his realm, leaving him to his ordeals alone. Up until a few moments ago, they’d seemed like perfect children. The little girl had been reading through a few of the more harmless books, and the little boy had been creating things from magical dust that gave the user the ability to form illusions of their own design. Marionette had placed all of the dangerous or unknown objects up and away from them, under the protection of a force field that would harmlessly repel any hand but his own long before he had let them loose in the realm.

 

Now, though, the children seem to be playing some form of game. Of course, they’re failing rather miserably. The little boy pokes his head up and then disappears behind a stand or a shelf, but he doesn’t seem to realize that he gives off a halo of light that reaches out of his hiding place. The little girl does the same, except she doesn’t glow as much as she causes objects near her to hover. Even if they didn’t have these tells, though, their admittedly cute giggling easily gives away where they are.

 

“I can see you,” he sing-songs, not leaving his perch atop his desk. He’s given up trying to sit in his chair since the little girl had discovered her ability and promptly spent the time he was seated in it lifting and lowering it without the use of her hands.

 

“No, you can’t,” the boy protests. “We’re hiding!”

 

Marionette hums and looks down at one of the artifacts. “Not very well.”

 

“You do not know anything,” the girl accuses.

 

Marionette shakes his head, sets down the item, and then reaches into a drawer of magical supplies. He fishes out a little pouch and tosses it to the floor next to them. “At least use this if you’re going to try to fool me,” he suggests. “It’ll make you invisible.”

 

“Ooh,” the twins sound off in unison, clearly delighted by the prospect of being able to sneak around invisible.

 

Marionette watches in amusement as the dust from the pouch rises into the air. As soon as the dust falls back down onto them, the light from the little boy vanishes. He lifts three fingers. Two. One.

 

As soon as he lowers his last finger, he hears a whinny. A rather beautiful filly steps out of the twins’ hiding spot, glaring at Marionette. Her mane is dotted with stars and galaxies and constellations, as are her eyes. Her coat is a gorgeous, shiny black that matches the night sky. In all honesty, it’s almost an improvement. If only the little filly couldn’t cause more trouble for him, especially if his mother finds out.

 

Sitting atop the filly’s head in a dove, who looks equally as displeased as the young horse. The dove’s feathers are coated with a shine, albeit less than what the boy had been sporting. Its eyes are a burning gold, rather than the beady black that most doves have. Like the filly, it’s a beautiful creature – but one more problematic than useful.

 

“You lied to us,” the filly accuses.

 

“Nope. I tricked you. Get rekted, kids,” he teases. “Never take anything magical from anyone. You never know if they’re being truthful to you, or if their intentions are to hurt you. Or turn you into a horse and a bird.”

 

“Change us back,” the dove demands.

 

“Try that again, but nicer,” Marionette advises.

 

The dove shifts his wings, clearly not wanting to oblige. The filly shuffles her hooves, but gives Marionette a more placid look. “Please change us back, brother,” she requests, “we are sorry if we have been impeding on your work today. We simply enjoy spending time with you. We have not gotten to do that often…”

 

Marionette offers a tiny smile and hops down from the desk. “Alright. Here. Let me just—” He grabs a bucket from one of the shelves and dumps the contents over the twins. Immediately, the dove lets out a shrill cry, being knocked off of the filly’s head by the constant flow of water. A light consumes the two and as quickly as they had originally changed shape, they’re back to normal. He uprights the bucket and puts it back on the shelf.

 

Sol whines in pain, shivering and trying to scramble out of the water pooled around him. “No! Brother, get it away! It hurts!”

 

“There’s a blanket in the back room, Sol. Go dry off back there,” Marionette tells him.

 

Sol nods and darts out of the room. As soon as he’s gone, Marionette turns to face Luna. The little girl is smiling patiently up at him, before the little brat shakes her head and gets water _all around her_. Marionette wipes his face and scowls.

 

“You just had to do that, didn’t you?” He accuses.

 

She giggles. “Get rekted, Net.”


	27. Meeting Jerry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And this is Jerry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None

“And this is Jerry.”

 

Jordan walks into Jerry’s cage and sits down. Polaris is in his arms, watching the little slime as it bounces up and down. Admittedly, in the back of his mind, Jordan is petrified. Polaris could easily shred Jerry between her claws or take a large chunk out of the slime’s body with just a bite. She could kill the slime – and even though she likely wouldn’t mean anything harmful by it, Jordan doesn’t want to see that happen. He wants them to be alright around one another.

 

 _Lady Ianite, please, let them get along,_ he prays, waiting with bated breath as Polaris climbs out of his lap and walks over to where the slime is.

 

Polaris waits a moment, raises one front leg as if making to swat, and—

 

Suddenly, she lets out a fearful cry.

 

Jerry has touched her, and apparently, the consistency of his tiny, slimy body has frightened her. Polaris darts away from the slime, scrambling over her feet to get behind Jordan as quickly as she can. She ducks under the back of his jacket. Jordan can feel the dragoness trembling. Feel her wings pressing against her back and her tail coiled around her front. Her tiny spines on the tail brush against Jordan’s back, threatening to accidentally cut up the back of his white undershirt.

 

He chuckles, reaching out to pet Jerry when the slime comes closer to him. “What’s wrong, Polaris?” He asks in a soft, soothing tone. “Don’t like Jerry?”

 

She makes a long, loud crying noise. He feels her stand up on her hind legs, grasping onto the back of his undershirt with her front feet’s talons. Jordan tries to crane his arm around to grab her, but she’s just far enough back that he can’t get a good hold on her. Instead, she continues to make protesting sounds.

 

“At least I won’t have to worry about you two causing trouble,” he mumbles


	28. Height Differences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s not fair that you’re taller than me like this. I’m bigger than you in our normal-forms. How come you’re bigger than me now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None

“Polaris, I’m—”

 

QuickSilver glances down at Polaris, who is standing against his chest, looking rather miffed that her sudden attempt to hug-tackle him hadn’t knocked him off of his feet. Her arms are hanging unhappily at her sides, and with a defeated huff, she lays her head on his chest. Her shoulders droop, and if she doesn’t look the most miserable she probably ever has since he’s met her, he’d be surprised.

 

“I missed you,” he offers. “What’s wrong? What’s upsetting my dragoness?”

 

“I wanted to knock you over,” she mumbles, scuffing her feet against the floor of the tree. “It’s not fair that you’re taller than me like this. I’m bigger than you in our normal-forms. How come you’re bigger than me now?”

 

He offers her a sympathetic, yet confused glance. Yes, Polaris is larger than he is normally. In fact, she stands a good three-feet taller than him in dragon-form. In human-form, though, Polaris is the shortest of the Guardians, and the shortest of their friends. She’s five-foot-five; QuickSilver, in human-form, stands around Jace’s height, bringing him only an inch shorter than Jay. QuickSilver’s never known this to have upset Polaris before, but clearly, it has.

 

“I don’t know,” he answers, although in the back of his mind all he can think is _because Jay made me like this, and you were made like that._

 

She makes a frustrated noise. He waits a moment before wrapping his arms around her. “Where’s Jordan?” He asks.

 

“Helping Tucker and Sonja with some base repairs or security measures or something,” she answers. “I didn’t really pay attention. I just wanted you to come home.”

 

He smiles a bit. “Well, I’m home.”

 

She looks up at him. “Did you bring me anything?”

 

He nods and gently taps a bag against her back. “Jinx snuck some diamonds out of Dianite’s temple for you. She sends her best, as usual,” he tells her. “She wanted to know how you were feeling. I told her that you were feeling better than you had been for a few days.”

 

Polaris nods against his chest. He lowers the bag, setting it on a nearby table. As interested and excited as he’s certain Polaris is over the new treasures to add to her trove (despite her best efforts to help him create one, Silv prefers to give shiny things to her because she gets more fun out of the collection process than he does), she’s still more discouraged by their height difference. Honestly, it puzzles him. She’s known that she’s shorter than him for a while, so why now is it so important?

 

“Hey, Polly,” he murmurs, catching her gaze. He reaches up and brushes her bangs out of her face, smiling down at her. “I like being taller than you.”

 

“Are you teasing me? ‘Cause, if you are, that’s not nice, Silv,” she scolds.

 

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, I’m not. At least, I don’t mean to be. I just…” He softens his gaze. “I like that I can do this—”

 

He bends down a bit, circling underneath her knees with one arm while the other rests behind her back. When he has her caught, he lifts her up and spins around, listening to Polaris let out a delighted laugh. He stops spinning and presses his forehead against hers, smiling when she closes her eyes and giggles.

 

He carries her down the hall, occasionally spinning around to gain another set of giggles from his mate. He knows, more than anything, Polaris likes closeness. She likes being near him. She likes being in contact with him. He likes it, too. Originally, he’d been happily bemused by the strange woman who could teleport around him and smelt like a dragon, but now he’s come to know her and all of her little quirks, and he’s in love with her. He craves her more than anything else.

 

When he reaches the bedroom, he dips Polaris down low and leans with her, kissing her on the lips in a long show of passion that he hasn’t had the opportunity to show her for a while now. He lifts her back up when he pulls his lips from hers, smiling down at her. She smiles back up at him, and he thinks that she must be feeling better.


	29. When Silv met Jordan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uh… Polaris?” He asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None

Jordan nearly drops his pickaxe on his foot when he enters his house. Polaris is a bit of a shock to see in human-form until he recalls that she had previously been as well, so Jordan manages to catch himself from asking who she is – but the boy sitting next to Polaris is, in no way, familiar to Jordan. The boy has black hair and silver eyes, and Jordan rakes his mind for anyone meeting those traits. Tucker, himself, and Jay all have black hair, but no one has silver eyes. The closest would be Mianite or Dianite, who have white eyes – and Tom, but Tom’s eyes sometimes seem to change to a more natural coloration before turning back black (Jordan still hasn’t discovered if that’s just a trick, or if they really do change).

 

“Uh… Polaris?” He asks.

 

Polaris hops up from the sofa immediately, teleporting in front of him. He wants to laugh because it just goes to show how excited she is that she won’t take the time to actually walk over to him. The grin on her face and the way she bounces on her feet is another way, too, and it makes him think that if she were in dragon form, his house would probably have caved in by now, or a tail would have gone through his windows.

 

“Jordan, Jordan, Jordan,” she cheers.

 

“Polaris, Polaris, Polaris,” he jokes.

 

“Hey! No copy-cat,” she scolds playfully, before gesturing wildly over at the male still seated on his sofa, watching the two of them curiously. “This is QuickSilver! Jay made him for me! He’s my new friend. Can we keep him? _Please?_ I’ll be good. I’ll even sleep in the tree from now on, if you let him stay!”

 

Jordan laughs. “Calm down, Polaris. Don’t talk so fast. I can only hear so quickly.” He smiles at her and then nods. “But, sure, he can stay. He won’t cause any trouble, will he?”

 

“No, Sir,” the boy answers. “I don’t plan on being any trouble for you.”

 

“You can call me Jordan, if you want. Sir sounds so formal,” Jordan tells him.

 

He nods. “Okay, Jordan.”

 

“So he can stay?” Polaris asks. Jordan nods at her and she lets out a high-pitched squeal of delight, wrapping her arms around him.

 

Jordan reaches down and pats her on the head, chuckling. “Why would I say no?” He inquires. “You know I don’t mind. A friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

 

She giggles and releases him, teleporting over to QuickSilver. She grabs his hand, pulling him to his feet and teleporting away with him. Jordan blinks, staring at the spot they’d been standing in, and then he shakes his head.

 

“What am I going to do with you, Polaris?” He sighs.


	30. Definitions GoM Main Series Stories One and Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! I have quite a few one-shots in the process, but I actually wanted to try something else this time. Since I know a lot of things are being introduced (and have yet to be), I wanted to compile a list of ‘definitions’ for terms and other things that have been introduced thus far. After the third and fourth stories are completely uploaded on here, I’ll be adding those terms to the list as well (although I actually already have everything written down on another word document, which I might upload after the fourth story since it contains many, many, many spoilers). So, I’ll be organizing these things by story. (This list won’t include anything post-GoM2. Keep in mind that this means certain things may later be announced as actually being other things, but that will be mentioned when the time comes.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:
> 
> Technically, spoilers if you haven't read the first and second main stories in the GoM series (A Guardian's Vengeance and Requiem of the Guardians).

** A Guardian’s Vengeance **

****

**Realms –** there are many realms, but the most frequently used are the Overworld, Nether, End, Aether, and Void. If a being is locked away in its own realm or does not leave for longer than a moon cycle (one month), then they will begin to lose their sanity. Time passes differently in the Aether and Void. In the Aether and Void, time will move at a faster rate. Distance is also different in all of the realms, as one foot in the Overworld may be ten feet in any of the realms.

**Overworld (the realm) –** the Overworld is the most active realm, and is where the majority of the stories take place. It is where the Mianitees, Wizards, and other beings typically exist. The Overworld is a neutral ground, meaning that no one god has right to full control of it.

 

 **God –** there are four major gods in the realms: Dianite, Mianite, Ianite, and Void. Each of them rules over a specific realm (Dianite – Nether; Mianite – Aether; Ianite – End; Void – Void). They are the creators of the Guardians, with Mianite being the original creator of the first. They are the major ‘rulers’ of the realms, or they are considered such.

****

**Guardian –** a Guardian is a creature that is created by a god to serve them, or to serve their followers. All Guardians thus far have some form of wings.

 

 **Types of wings:** Lara has large, white, fluffy, feathery wings that are incredibly powerful, but mostly useless if wet. Jace has leathery bat-like wings that are (mostly) resistant to fire, but have turned red after long lava exposure. Jay has “feathery” wings – but his feathers are as sharp as daggers and useable for weapons. His wings are pitch black, and considered to be as expansive as the night sky. His wings are powerful like Lara’s, and are “resistant to fire” but not lava. Polaris, in dragon-form, has large, leathery wings of a dragon.

 

 **Mianitee –** the Mianitees are the mortals who live in the Overworld. Despite not all following Mianite, they are dubbed this because the realms have been ‘affectionately’ called the Realm of Mianite. There are quite a few Mianitees, but the main ones discussed in the stories are Jordan (follows Ianite), Tucker (follows Mianite), Sonja (follows Mianite), Tom (follows Dianite), and Declan (follows no god, but acts a messenger/priest for all; is a medium). The others of note are Nade, the Modsteps, and Champwan – but they are not typically mentioned.

 

 **Pirate –** the pirates are loyal to Ianite and once lived in Ianarea. They like gold and grog, but they tend to be very fun to be around.

 

 **Wizard –** often considered the builders of the realms, the Wizards were once mortals. They gained powers strong enough to match up to the gods after being dissatisfied with the actions taken by the gods. Currently, they use those powers to help others – in return for payment in diamonds. (Waglington is the most actively portrayed, and often the one to suffer the demand of Lara or Jay and the anger that follows from the other.)

 

 **Medium –** a mortal whose ancestors have had strong ties to the different bloodlines and the gods. They are able to hear and sense the gods, but in return, are hunted down by mobs more actively than others. Mediums are to be protected by the Guardians, hence why the Guardians may feel an immediate connection to mediums they meet. Mediums often become priests, writers, or architects.

 

 **Enderdragon –** an Enderdragon is a creature typically found in the End. The previous one was killed by Tom and left behind an egg, which hatched into Polaris. The Enderdragon is considered the sister of the endermen. Enderdragons will imprint on certain people, which will give them an immediate, positive connection to the person/being.

 

 **Mobs –** there are many different types of mobs, both passive and aggressive. Aggressive mobs will hunt any being they see. Passive mobs are typically harmless, or attack only when attacked first. Aggressive mobs will hunt mediums. Enderdragons like Polaris and Syrreth have the ability to be classified as mobs, despite being Guardians.

 

 **Purge** – during the Purge, the Mianitees are allowed to battle with one another. When the Purge is inactive, it is a time for peace in order to protect Ianite. The Guardians are required to sit out and normally will retreat to somewhere deemed safe for them. They are not allowed to assist or distract during the Purge because it would be considered unfair for them to participate.

 

 **Jay** – Jay is technically the last Guardian created. He was created by Void and taught by Cronus. He is considered to be a shadow, but not in the same way that other shadows are. His purpose was originally to destroy the gods and other Guardians, but he decided to work against his purpose. Jay is a trickster and likes to create pranks, mainly with TNT and mainly against Tom. He gets along with the others relatively well, though calling him ‘void-born’ will lead to arguments. He is currently in a relationship with Lara.

 

 **Void-born –** a void-born creature is one that has some form of attachment to the Void. This goes for both creatures made by/in the Void, and creatures made in the End. Void-borns, both by creation or by relation, are able to protect other beings from suffering the environmental effects of the Void.

 

 **Polaris –** Polaris is Ianite’s second Guardian. It could be argued that Polaris is the youngest of the Guardians instead of Jay, but due to Polaris being the ‘reincarnation’ of Ianite’s previous Guardian (see: Syrreth), it would be more correct to state that Polaris is still older than Jay. That said, Polaris is treated and acts like the youngest, seemingly to her own delight. Due to her technical void-born status, she and Jay are like family. She is currently in a relationship with QuickSilver.

 

 **Chat-pads –** used to communicate between the different people in the Overworld. The only ones who don’t have chat-pads are the gods – and later Lara, Jace, and Jay. It’s never stated whether or not Polaris and QuickSilver ever receive chat-pads.

 

 **Portal/Dimensional Holes –** a void-born’s typical motive of travel. They have the ability (if they’re born of the Void, not in relation to it) to open these holes and drop themselves into the Void for any period of time. This allows them to travel faster than most forms of teleportation.

 

 **Jace –** Jace is the second oldest Guardian. He was created by Dianite and well-known to fear upsetting his maker. He considers Lara to be the most valuable thing currently in his existence, but treats her like an older sister rather than a potential romance. He and Jay have an on-off friendship, but seem to have bonded over their negative reactions to their creators and their affection toward Lara. Jace and Furia will never get along. Jace is currently single.

 

 **Lara –** Lara is the oldest of the Guardians, and was created by Mianite. She doesn’t like nicknames and has trouble dealing with large messes because she has always been the one to clean up after everyone else. Lara is well-known for having a compulsion to oblige Mianite and feels distraught when she is unable to do what he wants of her. Since meeting Jay, her concern about Mianite’s orders have only grown – but according to the others, her sense of humor has grown, too. She is familiar with the Overworld to the point where she can sense changes in the atmosphere. She treats Jace like a younger brother and is currently in a relationship with Jay.

 

 **Void (the realm) –** the Void is below everything (and above the Nether, and around the End completely). It is considered by Dianite and Mianite to be the most dangerous thing, and the two have warned their Guardians off of going near it by telling them horror stories about it. Lara is the most vocal to have a fear of the Void. Void-borns (by creation) are able to escape to the Void to heal, as all beings are in their own realms. Hibernating in the realm is often down while appearing younger to allow for healing to occur faster and with less complication. A being that has no relation to the Void will suffer insanity or potential death if left in the Void without a void-born in contact with them. This is especially true of Aetherian beings.

 

 **God-killing bow (Ultimate God Slaying Bow) –** according to Jay, it is capable of killing a god or Guardian permanently. That said, no one knows because it is never shown to be used to its full potential. It does, however, succeed in knocking Dianite out cold.

 

 **Death (person) –** see: Void (person).

 

 **Marlin –** one of Tom’s fish; was asked for by ‘Death’ from Sonja in exchange for the God-killing bow.

 

 **Weaknesses of the Guardians –** as experienced with Jay in the Nether fortress prison, Guardians have weaknesses that derive from their creations. Jay is weak against light and has a weakness to hot temperatures; Lara is weak against darkness and has a moderate weakness to cold; Jace is weak against cold and has a moderate weakness to darkness; Polaris is weak against water and has a moderate weakness against extreme temperatures.

 

 **Strengths of the Guardians –** each of the Guardians have their own strengths. Lara has the ability to heal and the most knowledge of how things work, including energy and history. She’s known to be the fastest of the Guardians, but is considered a pacifist. Jace can create balls of fire and heal via lava/fire, and has been shown to have a really good resistance to heat. He also has sharp teeth and claws that he can use to attack his enemies, though he grinds them down to look more “normal.” Polaris is an Enderdragon – and later has the ability to shift between human- and dragon-form. Jay has the ability to control and move through shadows, as well as the ability to make and drop into portals, and to alter the areas around him if he gives a lot of effort to it.

 

 **Nether (realm) –** the Nether is ruled over by Dianite and is the home of Jace, Dianite, and Furia (though Furia is never seen there, likely due to him being exiled by Dianite). Walking through a Nether portal will frequently result in nausea. Creatures from here are dubbed Netherian.

 

 **TNT traps –** don’t trust Jay with anything relating to red stone and TNT. Everything you love will be destroyed (especially if you’re Tom, but not if you’re Lara).

 

 **Energy –** energy exists in all beings. For Mianitees, their energy will glow white; for Mianite/Lara, the energy is gold; for Dianite/Jace, the energy is orange-red; for Ianite/Polaris, the energy is purple; and for Void/Jay, the energy is black. When a Guardian is created, their energy is originally that of their god’s, but the energy begins to shift and change as they grow. By the current time of the first GoM story, the Guardians have formed their own, unique energy supplies. Energy can also be transferred between beings in order to allow them to tie to one another, though depending on the purpose of the tie, it can come with positive or negative consequences. (Negative example: Lara is harmed when Tucker goes after Jay. Positive example: Lara is able to heal Jay without expending her own energy to do so.)

 

 **Bloodlines –** there are five major bloodlines, and each one runs a specific branch and has individual rules. Each bloodline has abilities unique to members in those bloodlines. They were created by beings higher than even the gods, but those beings haven’t been heard from in eons – before the Guardians were created.

 

 **Mental fighting –** void-borns have the unique ability to draw something into their own mind, allowing them to have a being view something or spar with that being; however, this runs the risk of physical damage being taken because the mind is still connected to the body. This means that any damage done to the body is actually taken by the body. If death occurs during this process, the death is permanent. Void-borns also have the ability to eject a willing party from their mind, or to forcibly eject an unwilling party.

 

 **Shadows (person) –** see: Void (person).

 

 **Shadows –** shadows are creatures created by the Void, or by void-borns. They obey the one who summons them and are, by themselves, relatively harmless unless given order to be otherwise. Shadows can range in levels of power, but have no unique energy to themselves. All void-borns (by creation) are considered shadows (see: Void and Jay). Most shadows are unable to hold a form for long periods of time without their creator enforcing the form. (For exceptions to this rule, see: Chaos, Cronus, and QuickSilver.)

 

 **Immortality (thing) –** immortality is what allows a being to remain in an arrested state of life, as well as allowing them to keep from suffering energy poisoning. A being is able to give it up, but it will likely result in death. There is still a slim chance, however, that immortality and energy can be removed/altered consecutively to prevent imminent death to the being – but there is a larger chance that it will not work, especially if not done properly. Immortality can be given or taken at will.

 

 **Energy poisoning –** there are many ways for a being to be poisoned by energy. A being with immortality can choose to have their immortality removed, but their energy will remain at the heightened level and begin to poison their body, eventually resulting in death. Another way for energy to poison an immortal being is for them to have their energy at a level higher than they are able to sustain even with their immortality intact.

 

 **Fading –** when a Guardian dies, their body will vanish.

 

* * *

 

 

** Requiem of the Guardians **

****

**Mind control –** the ability to influence the thoughts or actions of another being; typically used if said being is already at breaking point. Jay tends to be the easiest to get to this point, and the most likely to be controlled because of his predisposition with negative experiences.

 

 **Lara’s ghost –** see: Chaos

 

 **End (realm) –** the End is the home of Ianite and the endermen. At one point, Ianite’s old Guardian lived there and was locked inside of her realm when Ianite went missing. Polaris doesn’t spend much time in the End. The End is completely surrounded by the Void, and is often considered to be the sister-realm of the Void. It was created when pieces of the Overworld broke off and remained hovering in the Void, untouched. Because of this, creations of the Void and creations of the End are considered kin.

 

 **Revival –** in order to revive a Guardian or god, one must have their body and energy.

 

 **Aether (realm) –** the Aether is a realm ruled over by Mianite. It is full of light and creatures that thrive in light. Lara is technically an Aetherian being, though she is associated with the Overworld due to her existence being primarily there. Creatures from here are dubbed Aetherian.

 

 **Chaos –** a shadow created by Void with the ability to maintain her form for an almost endless amount of time. She is responsible for manipulating Jay into becoming the enemy of the Overworld after Lara’s death. Chaos is able to actively interact with energy by reaching into a being to damage the energy within them. In order to help maintain her regular form, Chaos has to feed off of energy when not around Void or in the Void.

 

 **Furia –** unseen in the stories, but considered by Jace to be pure evil. Furia is responsible for many atrocities, and has attempted more than once to kill Jace when he was growing up. Jace and Furia are not friends.

 

 **Amber –** Dianite’s “second Guardian”. Amber originally starts off very interested in Jay, and then berates Jace for introducing himself based upon the people he knows. It is unknown what becomes of Amber.

 

 **Respawn –** when a Mianitee dies, they will revive in the last place they slept or, if their bed is missing, they will revive where they entered the Overworld.

 

 **Void wings –** see: Types of wings.

 

 **Prophecy –** there is a prophecy hanging over Jay’s head that states he will lead to his own demise. Lara and Jay continue to fight against this and keep it from being true, despite knowing that it comes from the Fates themselves.

 

 **The laser-pointer incident –** Polaris doesn’t want to talk about it, but know that there was a time when Jay enjoyed getting Polaris to chase around a laser. Polaris still doesn’t like red dots.

 

 **Other dragons –** according to legend, there are dragons in every realm. Lara just doesn’t know where they went, or if the legend is even true.

 

 **Voices –** memories from the past, bleeding over into the minds of those in the present.

 

 **Experiences with death –** Lara and Jace have very many experiences with death, and react in different ways. Jace reacts by avoiding the situation, going so far as to hide away until he feels enough time has passed; Lara reacts by forcing herself to move past it, often causing her not to allow herself to fully mourn. Jay’s experience with death is with Lara’s, and he mourned for months alone while he felt everyone else moved on. Polaris has no real experience with death outside of Lara, but she considers that more Jay’s loss than her own and mourned with him.

 

 **Void fires/flames –** fire at the bottom of the Void that will burn up anything that falls into it, if given time.

 

 **Godly weapons –** Mianite’s sword is able to kill Dianite or any Netherian creature (including Jace). Dianite’s sword is able to kill Mianite or any Aetherian creature (including Lara). If the opposing force holds one of these swords – or if any force not meant to do so – that being will suffer burns so long as they touch the weapon. Jace and Lara have tested the weapons on one another in the past. Lara is extremely familiar with where Tom hides Dianite’s blade.

 

 **Syrreth:** Syrreth was Ianite’s previous Guardian. She grew up around the endermen, Ianite, and Void – but when Void was locked away and Ianite was taken, Syrreth was locked away in the End for eons. She was driven insane and attacked the first Mianitee to dare to enter the End, and was killed for her efforts. Her energy was absorbed by the egg left behind. Syrreth has been with Polaris as a sort of guide since Polaris’ ‘creation’.

 

 **Jace’s knowledge of first-aid –** surprisingly good, and he has a great bedside manner, too.

 

 **Age-reversal spells –** currently used only against Lara (although Jay has the active ability to change his appearance whenever he likes), age-reversal spells affect both the body and, to some extent, the mind. In Lara’s case, it affected her mind by causing her to recall the feeling of abandonment she had when Ianite was taken away, and caused her to admit to Jay that she feared he would only leave her alone.

 

 **Jay and Lara’s promise –** to quell the fear he finds out Lara has, Jay promises her never to leave her. This is often shown by them locking pinkies, especially if Jay worries that Lara is feeling anxious about the potential that he’s going to leave.

 

 **“Your eyes were white” –** see: Void (person).

 

 **How a Guardian can become a god –** there are currently two known ways for a Guardian to become a god – through creation or through ascension. The creation method requires the blessing from at least one member of each bloodline, and the ability to create something worth earning the title of a god. The ascension method can only be accomplished by a god willingly giving up their title to their Guardian, and that Guardian remaining in the realm they are taking over long enough for the realm to adjust to them as ruler, as well as to alter them to have the power-levels of a god rather than a Guardian.

 

 **QuickSilver –** also known as “Silv,” QuickSilver was created by Jay to be a companion for Polaris. He is an Enderdragon by creation, but is considered to be a void-creature and not one of the End. He is currently in a relationship with Polaris, and balances out her excitable personality with his calmer one.

 

 **Memory showing –** something Ianite does to show Lara and Jay some of the memories that had been taken from them as children. Showed Lara and Jay meeting for the first time, and Void and Mianite coming to the decision to remove the memories in order to prevent a war between the two gods. Also exposed the fact that Lara can manipulate light, as was told to her in the memories by Dianite.

 

 **Cronus –** Jay’s former mentor. Created by Void to teach Jay, Cronus became a sort of fatherly figure to him while he was growing up. At some point, Cronus left the Void and came to the Overworld. He befriended Declan and used Declan’s connections to the Mianitees in attempt to persuade Nadeshot to follow Void. When it was found out that Nadeshot had betrayed Dianite, Dianite claimed it was a test. Cronus was then hidden away by Declan and found by Lara, who agreed to keep Cronus a secret.

 

 **“Storm” –** see: Void (person).

 

 **Mindspeak –** something able to be done to someone with energy ties or a strong emotional attachment, or by creation and creator. It is also able to be done with Declan because he is a medium. (See: medium.) Mindspeak can lead to severe, debilitating migraines if one party is aggressive enough to reply with constant waves of white-noise.

 

 **Possession –** an advanced form of mind control. Total control over a being, with the insertion of your own consciousness in theirs. Taking a possessed being to a place where the possessor isn’t in a position where they hold power can weaken the power the possessor has over their victim.

 

 **Mindscape –** the location within a person’s mind; where mental fighting normally occurs.

 

 **Void (person) –** the ruler of the Void, and the creator of Chaos and Jay. Void was thought to have been dead, but it is revealed that he was resting. He took control of Jay and caused pain to Declan, nearly causing death to Lara in the process when he took interest in her and wanted to use her to hurt Jay.


	31. What Not to Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “C’mere, Lulu,” you urge softly, “let me show you why I don’t want you to touch what you did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning:  
> Bucket that contains liquid that devours anything it touches (but devours nothing important)  
> Mention of child being hollered at (to keep them away from said bucket) and then being apologized to over it

You sigh and drop to your hands and knees, bending over until you’re nearly on your stomach anyway. The bed is low to the ground, but somehow, Luna’s found a way to hide underneath it. She probably threw it up against the ceiling before diving underneath where it had been and letting it fall on top of her harmlessly again. The little kid is great already with her control over gravity, and sometimes, it scares even you to think about how dangerous she could be if she isn’t taught right. If she decides one day that she doesn’t like somebody, they might find themselves suffocating in the vastness of space without a chance to do anything – well, if you don’t teach her right from wrong, that is.

 

“Luna,” you call, trying to keep your voice as soft as you can.

 

You hear a small noise that sounds like protest. You risk a glance over your shoulder, but Sol must still be in the other room, probably looking at the shiny relics you let him see. The twins are older now than they were when you first were charged with babysitting them. They’re old enough to touch the majority of the things in your realm, but some of them – including the one Luna had touched – are still too dangerous for them to touch. Some relics you don’t even touch because you haven’t found out how to nullify them yet.

 

With another sigh, you lower yourself back down. “Lulu… Kid, I’m sorry for yelling at you. It’s just… that thing you touched—”

 

“You are very loud when you yell, Net,” she mumbles. “I do not like that volume of noise. My night is so quiet normally. You speak like Solaris’ day.”

 

“I know, kid,” you admit.

 

Luna is quiet and you resign yourself to laying on your stomach to see her underneath the bed. All you can make out of her is a mess of stars and galaxies, and soon, two more galaxies appear, looking at you with a shine to them that really shouldn’t be there. You reach an arm underneath the bed, groping around nearly blindly until you find her shoulder.

 

“C’mere, Lulu,” you urge softly, “let me show you why I don’t want you to touch what you did.”

 

She’s still for a moment longer before she nods. The bed floats upward until its high enough off of the floor that Luna can crawl out from under it. You remove your arm from her shoulder as she draws to her feet, and then you get to your own feet. You take the nine-year-old being’s hand and lead her back into the main room.

 

To your relief, Sol is looking through a book of different types of potions. Next to him is a cauldron and a bunch of potion ingredients. One look at the pile of ingredients tells you that he’ll be fine. All of the ingredients he has with him make relatively harmless potions, and even if he does something wrong, the backfire or negative effect of the potion isn’t really going to hurt someone like him. The worst that will happen is Sol being upset that he failed and in a tiny bit of discomfort because water will have splashed all over him.

 

You make a beeline for the bucket Luna had previously been inspecting. When you reach it, you pull the bucket down and call Sol over to join you. Might as well warn both of them away from the contents of the bucket before Sol tries to peek at it. When Sol reaches you both, you grab a pair of scissors.

 

“Hey, Lulu,” you say.

 

When she turns to look up at you, you reach down and grab hold of her long, black, night sky-riddled hair at shoulder-length. You lift the scissors and, before she can say anything, you snip her hair off from below your hand, tightening your fist around the locks before they can fall. The little godly being reaches up when you move your hands away from her. She doesn’t seem too upset that she’s lost quite a length of her hair to your actions; instead, she seems interested in playing with her now short hair.

 

“Alright, kids. We’re going to talk about why you shouldn’t touch things unless I say you can,” you say, inwardly relieved not to have to deal with an upset child. Luna and Sol are both watching you, though, so you have to get busy before they get distracted – or Sol gets distracted, since it takes a lot to distract Luna.

 

“Watch,” you direct.

 

You set the bucket down on the floor and stoop down with it, sitting on your heels. Luna and Sol follow you with their gaze, and you dip the cut locks of Luna’s hair into the ink-black liquid inside of the bucket. As the tips of the hair touches the liquid, the liquid congeals and begins to climb up the hair. It doesn’t matter that you pull the hair away from the liquid. The galaxies and stars and constellations that had once been shining in Luna’s hair are slowly being devoured by the black goop, despite no longer touching the source. You wait a moment more and then drop the hair into the liquid before the black mess can touch your fingers, and then you place the bucket back up on the shelf it had been on.

 

You turn back to the twins and notice that Sol is staring at you wide-eyed. Luna is trembling a bit, likely seeing how close she had come to an unfortunate accident when she’d almost knocked over the bucket earlier, before you’d yelled at her to get away from it. Wanting to be a good big brother, you reach forward and brush her bangs out of her eyes.

 

“Luna, do you see why I yelled at you?” You ask. “If that had fallen on you, I don’t know what it would have done. That liquid eats all forms of life that it touches. I didn’t want it to do something to you, or hurt you in some way. For all I know, it would’ve erased you from existence.”

 

“N-Net,” she stutters out.

 

You sigh, lowering your hands to your knees and looking between both of the twins. “I don’t want _either_ of you touching anything without asking me first,” you announce, “Sol, that potion stuff is fine, and everything else that both of you have looked at already has been okay. But that bucket – and anything I say that’s like it when you ask – is off-limits for a reason, kids. Even if I don’t tell you why it’s off-limits, just know that I have a reason why it’s off-limits. Got it?”

 

Sol nods eagerly and Luna hesitantly offers a small tip of her head to show her acknowledgement. “Yes, Brother,” she agrees. “I am sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry, Lulu. Just be safe,” you say. “Now, how about you help Sol with the potions? That way he doesn’t get anything on himself. I’ll try to mark everything you can’t touch.”


	32. Was, Not Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She’s not up for visitors right now, Jay,” Jordan tells him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> MISCARRIAGE (mention of/non-explicit)

Jay stops in front of Jordan’s house with QuickSilver standing next to him. The human-formed Enderdragon is practically bouncing on his heels, acting like his senses are alight and his body is struggling to stand outside of the house. He looks like he wants to bolt inside immediately, but Silv knows he can’t do that. Silv is too polite to just rush inside, even if it’s his home, too. Jay knows that the Enderdragon is worried he won’t be let back inside – but Jay also thinks that whatever is making him so anxious is telling him that he probably will be.

 

Jordan opens the door. “QuickSilver,” he says. “She’s in bed.”

 

QuickSilver nods and races inside when Jordan steps out of the way. Jay makes to follow – to apologize for stealing Silv away from Polaris – but Jordan steps into his path with all the authority that a parent might hold when facing a danger to their child. Jay has no doubts that, right now, he _is_ a danger in Jordan’s eyes. The Mianitee might be the kindest, but Polaris is precious to him, and by taking QuickSilver away, he’d no doubt hurt Polaris. Jordan has all right to stand in his way.

 

“I just want to apologize,” Jay informs. “I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t thinking right. I—”

 

“She’s not up for visitors right now, Jay,” Jordan tells him.

 

_Not up for—? But Polaris wasn’t hurt. She was in the End the entire time. We didn’t even come get you guys because I didn’t want her to get hurt or see Silv like that, or—_

“What?” He asks.

 

“Ianite said there was something wrong,” the Mianitee answers, “when we were in the End, she started bleeding.”

 

“What?!” Jay demands. “Bleeding? W-What? Where? Is she okay? She’s not seriously hurt, is she? Dammit!”

 

He tries to move around Jordan, but the Mianitee stops him again. Frustrated, he tries to drop into a portal and resurface in the house – but something stops him before he can reappear. He presses against the barrier that has somehow formed around the house, and then resurfaces in front of the door again.

 

“Jordan, is she okay?” He growls.

 

“She’ll be fine, Jay. She just needs to rest and… recuperate. It’s going to be more of an emotional thing for her than a physical one,” Jordan says.

 

Jay frowns. “What happened…?”

 

The mortal sighs. “Did you ever hear that Enderdragons can sense their mates?” When Jay shakes his head, Jordan continues, “Ianite told me that while we were in the End. She said Polaris could sense what was going on with Silv, even a whole realm away from him. Because she could sense him, her body was under a lot of stress. The stress sort of…”

 

Jordan remains silent for a long moment before he says quietly, “she was pregnant, Jay.”

 

_Was._

 

It’s almost funny how the one word echoes in his mind. Polaris _was_ pregnant. Polaris _was_ expecting. Polaris _was_ going to be a mother – a great, wonderful, awesome mother to a baby dragon. Polaris _was_ going to experience being a mother.

 

And now, she _wasn’t_.

 

Now she _isn’t_.

 

“She miscarried,” Jay breathes, stomach dropping.

 

Jordan doesn’t nod. He just sighs and gives a downcast glance. “It’s not your fault, Jay.”

 

“I-I…” Jay takes in a deep breath and looks at Jordan, trying to ignore the strange burn behind his eyes. “Jordan, please… I need to see her. I need to… I need to apologize to her. To them. I… Please?”

 

After a moment of contemplation, Jordan steps aside. Jay rushes into the house, slowing to a walk as he draws closer to Polaris and QuickSilver’s room. He can hear Polaris’ shaky, upset breathing and Silv’s forcibly-composed breathing. Warily, he lifts his hand and knocks on the door.

 

“Polly…? Silv…? Can I come in?” He calls quietly.

 

The bed shifts and after a moment, the door opens. QuickSilver is standing in the doorway. Jay offers him an apologetic glance and then turns his attention over Silv’s shoulder. Recognizing what he wants, Silv reluctantly steps back, closing the door once Jay enters the room. He then walks back over to the bed, pulling his sniffling mate close.

 

“Polly, I’m sorry,” Jay says.

 

Polaris wipes her eyes. “Save it,” she mumbles.

 

“No, I re—”

 

“I said _save it_ ,” she growls, eyes dangerously flashing. “I don’t want to hear your apologies, Jay. If you were sorry, you wouldn’t have done what you did.”

 

Jay bites back the desire to pass some of the blame off on Lara and Mianite. It’s really not _only_ his fault, but part of him knows, too, that Polaris isn’t really angry with him. She’s in pain and distraught. She’s entitled to letting out her anger, just like anyone else. In time, it will be okay again. For now, Polaris is just venting, and Jay can’t bring himself to argue with her over this.

 

He nods. “I know,” he tells her. “If I could change it, I would. I should never have done what I did, but I wasn’t thinking about anything other than my own hurt. I didn’t think about you two.”

 

“We know, Jay,” QuickSilver says, giving him a genuinely understanding look. “Thank you.”

 

Jay nods again. “If you need somebody to beat up, Polly, I’m available for a round or so to spar. Ianite can tell you where to find me.”

 

Polaris growls at him and QuickSilver nods his head toward the door. Jay takes the message, walking out of the room with a final, apologetic glance toward Polaris, before he leaves the house and portal-travels back to where he and Lara are staying. The moment he sees Lara, he captures her in his arms. When she asks what’s wrong, he tells her – but he doesn’t tell her that all he can think about is _what if she was you?_


	33. Peek-a-boo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Peek-a-boo,” Lara cheers.
> 
> “I still don’t get it,” Jay admits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Cute moments?

Jay blinks, watching Lara for a long moment as she sits in front of their children. The twins are enjoying the time spent with their mother, but Jay doesn’t admittedly know what Lara is doing. She keeps closing her wings around herself and then opening them, which earns a laugh from the twins. Jay doesn’t really get it. He doesn’t see what’s so fun about her hiding herself and then showing them that she’s still there. Don’t they know that she is?

 

“Lara?” He calls. She hums over at him to signal that she’s heard, but closes her wings around herself. “What are you doing?” He asks. “I don’t get it.”

 

She opens her wings again, gaining the same fit of laughter she has for the last ten or so times that she’s done that. “Peek-a-boo,” she says, reaching out to tickle the twins, who only laugh more in delight.

 

Jay smiles a bit, despite his confusion. It really is nice to see Lara interacting with the kids, and to have a peaceful moment. Motherhood seems natural for Lara. It’s taken all of the best parts of her pacifism and her nurturing nature, and emphasized how much she seems to glow when she’s happy. He wonders why they never considered children before now, but the wait has been so worth it.

 

“What’s ‘peek-a-boo’?” He asks.

 

She lowers her wings and gestures for him to come sit next to her. When he does, she gets to her feet and sits behind him, curling her wings around him until all he can see in front of himself is large, white, fluffy feathers. He resists the urge to push them away and waits instead. When she opens her wings, the children laugh.

 

“Peek-a-boo,” Lara cheers.

 

“I still don’t get it,” Jay admits.

 

She smiles, arms moving to wrap around him, mindful of his sharper feathers. “It’s a game,” she informs, “it’s like hide-and-seek, only for younger children. Human parents will hide their faces behind their hands and then move them away. When I used to stay with villagers, I would use my wings to replicate the action. I found that children enjoyed that more than they did me hiding behind my hands.”

 

She hides Jay again and then pulls her wings away, earning another bout of laughter that makes her hum with affection. Jay nods a bit and then shifts, moving his wings around himself. Unlike Lara, he has to move his open and closed slowly, lest he loosen a few feathers and send them flying. (He’d rather not his children be hurt because of a game.) When he closes them, he hears Lara make another happy noise before she lets out a falsely worried gasp.

 

“Oh no! Where’d Daddy go?” She wonders aloud. “Mara, Thanatos? Where’s Daddy?”

 

Mara and Thanatos offer a few concerned noises, and Jay opens his wings, earning the same laughter from the twins that Lara had gained. Lara giggles. “Oh, there he is,” she cheers. “There’s Daddy.”

 

She taps Jay on the shoulder, kissing him on the lips when he turns to look at her. He kisses her back, pulling away after a moment. “Here I am,” he says softly.

 

Lara smiles at him. “Here you are.”


	34. Five Nights at The Arc - Night Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A red light is blinking on the phone, and Jay presses the play button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> None?

Jay walks in to work that evening with two goals in mind. The first is to find out what’s going on with Sol and Luna’s phone numbers, and the second is to find Eris’ ribbons. As a precaution, Jay had checked all through the car before entering the building, but he hadn’t found them. The Arc is just as it was the night before – silent and empty, almost eerily so, in contrast to its busy daytime. He brushes again off the horror movie-encouraged thought that he may not be alone.

 

As he enters, he notices that Polaris is already seated in the dining room. He offers her a flash of a smile, but she ignores him. It’s a strange reaction from the special attraction who, otherwise, is so bubbly and happy. He wonders why she can be so giddy during the daylight, and so… borderline-depressive during the night. Maybe something in her programming switches during the night? Maybe something to do with how she and the others are more freely able to wander about the building.

 

He doesn’t know, and despite how curious he is, he doesn’t feel he has the time to consider the special attractions’ mannerisms. He makes a beeline for his office, glancing around at the floor and into the various rooms as he passes. Eris’ ribbons are nowhere to be seen, though. Jay sighs, feeling defeated, and sits down in his chair. They’re just ribbons. Eris can get new ones. They weren’t special.

 

A red light is blinking on the phone, and Jay presses the play button.

 

_“Hey, new guy! I heard you came in earlier. Kevin told me that I ‘just missed you,’ but I swear that kid never gets the timing right. I probably missed you by a few hours. It’s alright, though. Kev’s a good kid; he’s just not great with time management. Not that I think he really wants to be here. He seems like the kind of kid who got forced here for community service or internship or something. Sucks to be him._

_“Anyway. Sorry I missed you. But, hey, I’m working tomorrow. I’ll be there all morning and into the afternoon, so if you stop by, you’ll definitely see me. Luna’s still on vacation, though. I know Kev told you she works weekends, but after she stopped working the night shift, she went on… vacation.”_

Jay hears the reluctance in Sol’s tone and wonders what Luna went on ‘vacation’ for. It sounds like more than that, especially if The Arc is trying to cover it up. Thus far, his employers don’t seem like the most responsible people.

 

Sol starts speaking again after a moment, _“About the phone numbers, too. The Arc requests that all of its staff hand out fraudulent numbers to customers if asked for personal contact information. According to them, it’s to keep personnel safe from any creeps in the world, but… Well, the town’s pretty quiet. I’ll let you decide how you want to take their ‘safety precaution,’ but I know how Luna and I see it. So, you want our actual numbers? Alright. Write it down._

_“Ah. Before that, though. I just wanted to let you in on another trick. Those ‘special attractions’ don’t tend to bother people who walk around, so if you ever want to make sure they don’t bug you, try taking a walk. Luna said Lara would sometimes walk with her, but so would Jace or Polaris – it just depended who felt nicest. Anyway, onto the number…”_

Jay grabs a pen and sticky note from the pad on the desk, immediately writing the numbers that Sol reads off. It’s two phone numbers, thankfully with the appropriate number of digits and a proper area code. Sol reads them both through a second time to make sure Jay’s written down the right numbers. After the second time reading through the numbers, Sol wishes Jay good luck and a good night before ending the message.

 

Jay leans back in his chair, pocketing the phone number and twirling the pen a few times. He checks the cameras once, just trying to spot the three. Polaris is still seated in the dining room, seemingly deciding to pointedly ignore the camera. Jace is standing in the older kid’s arcade room, pacing about the floor with a bored look on his face. Lara is the only one he can’t find, so with a sigh, he gets to his feet and walks out the door.

 

He only walks alone for the first few minutes. When he passes the room Jace is in, the devil attraction walks out to greet him, falling silently into step with him. Jay sends Jace a polite smile, to which Jace offers a small one in return. After a few moments of walking, Jay watches the tail attached to Jace’s spine and reaches down, intent to pull on the appendage. As soon as his fingers stroke the metal, Jace rushes off, leaving Jay to laugh at him.

 

“He-Hello.”

 

Jay turns, smiling when he notices Lara approaching. “Hey there, angel,” he greets.

 

He might be imagining it, but he swears that he sees her blush. Impossible, though. Lara shakes her head, laughing breathily. Jay gestures toward the next hall. “Would you like to join me, Lara?” He asks. “I’m just looking around. I think I only have a few more hours.”

 

Lara nods, following alongside him as they walk down the hall. Jay listens, surprised by how quiet her footsteps are. She’s awfully silent for something made of metal. He can understand now why he was caught off-guard the first night by her appearing suddenly at his door.

 

“You’re quiet,” he says.

 

“O-Oh,” she replies.

 

“It’s not a bad thing. Just… if you’re ever going to kill me or something, at least be loud and give me a head’s up,” he jokes.

 

By her expression, she doesn’t register that it’s a joke. She looks absolutely offended – and maybe a bit hurt. Jay holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m kidding. I don’t think you’re really do that,” he offers. “Maybe punch me once, but nothing worse than that.”

 

She huffs at him. Jay turns his attention back to the empty hall in front of him. “Sol told me that his sister used to work nights.”

 

“Lu-na,” Lara confirms. “N-Nice.”

 

“I’ll take your word for it. I haven’t met her,” he mutters.

 

Lara makes a noise and then reaches over, stopping him. Her hand feels as soft as skin, so human-like and normal. Maybe this is why Eris and the other kids are so comfortable around the special attractions. They feel so average. Like real people.

 

“Eris,” Lara says.

 

“Huh? Oh. You mean my niece,” he agrees. “Yeah. Her name’s Eris, but what’s—huh?”

 

He looks down at Lara’s other hand. In it, Lara is holding two ribbons – the same ones Eris had been wearing during the daylight hours. Jay takes them from her, smiling gratefully. “Thank you so much,” he says, “she’ll be so happy. She loves these things.”

 

Lara nods, and Jay pockets the ribbons. “Her mom bought them for h—”

 

“B-Brae-ly-lynn,” Lara states.

 

Jay frowns. “Uh… yeah. Her mom’s name is Braelynn, and her dad’s name is—”

 

“Dan-te.”

 

“Y-Yeah, how did y—?”

 

Lara gives him a sad look that reminds him of the expression from Polaris the night before, when she had told him that he couldn’t help. When Jay starts to walk again, Lara doesn’t follow. After a few paces, Jay turns back to look, but she’s wandered off, away from him.

 

The rest of the night passes in silence.


	35. The New God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dianite was shot by SynHD.
> 
> (Non-canon to the GoM series.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:  
> Spoilers for the end of Mianite S1  
> Mentioned character death

_Dianite was shot by SynHD._

Jace stares down at the message on his chat-pad, breath caught in his throat. He doesn’t know _what_ to make of that. Dianite is… dead? How… How can a god die? No one was even using Mianite’s sword, really. It was Tom’s stupid _bow_ that ended Dianite’s life, and…

 

And even though Dianite wasn’t always the nicest, he was still Jace’s creator… right?

 

Jace looks up and notices that Lara and Jay are equally shocked. The Mianitees, save for Tom, seem bemused by the entire situation, having momentarily forgotten Ianite and Capsize in the flurry of emotions they must feel. But Jace doesn’t feel that flurry. Everything, to him, feels like it’s dragging along, moving too slowly for him to be able to focus.

 

“No,” he hollers, “no, no, no! That’s not right!”

 

“Jace,” Lara starts, snapped out of her frozen state. She beats her wings twice, by him in an instant.

 

She reaches out to him, likely to try and comfort him, but right now, all he can think is that her hand is going to be poison – and because of that, he slices his claws across her arm. Lara immediately pulls her arm back in, recoiling with a wounded look. Jay is by her in a heartbeat, pulling her to his chest and placing his hand over the cut on her arm. He glares at Jace, saying something Jace doesn’t quite hear.

 

All Jace can think is that Lara’s wound is so small and superficial in comparison. Lara still has her _father_ , like Polaris has her _mother_ and Jay, despite his hatred for Void, has him still. Lara and Jay don’t understand what it feels like to experience this loss. This strange, sudden emptiness where something should be.

 

And then, all at once, there isn’t an empty spot anymore.

 

Something swirls in his stomach, darting up into his core. Something that feels strange and wrong, that makes his wings fail him as he collapses to his knees, wailing. It seems to be too much for Lara to tolerate because she shoves Jay away, dropping down next to him, and then rocks Jace back and forth. She runs her hands through his hair, murmuring softly all the while.

 

“I’m here, Jace. I’m here,” she murmurs, adding quietly in a language so old that Jace has nearly forgotten it, “Hic sum.”

 

As the strange sensation grows, Jace slips underneath the ways of unconsciousness. His last sight is of his chat-pad, which now holds a simple message reading _All pray to the dark lord Dianite… we mean SynHD._

 

\-------

 

“He’s out cold still.”

 

“He hurt you.”

 

“I’m fine, Jay. I’m not worried about me. I can heal.”

 

“Then why aren’t you, Lara?”

 

“Because it’s not worth the effort right now. I’m more concerned with what Jace is going through. I mean, none of us have ever experienced the death of our god. I… I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

 

“Yeah… Uh, hey, that thing you said to him…”

 

“Hic sum, you mean?”

 

“Yeah. That. What’d it mean?”

 

“It means ‘here I am.’”

 

“Oh… Do you think he’ll be alright serving Tom?”

 

“I think he’ll be as pleased as any of us would be serving any of the Mianitees as a permanent placement.”

 

\---------- 

 

Jace comes to in the Nether. He’s not too surprised – Lara had probably brought him there. What upsets him, though, is when he wanders the halls of Dianite’s temple out of instinct, he finds it empty. The mobs make their usual racket nearby, and lava bubbles outside, but the temple is so quiet. Dianite isn’t in the temple, making a ruckus or noise, or being upset over something. The Mianitees aren’t in the temple, goofing off. Jace is alone for the first time since his creation, and it’s terrifying.

 

He kicks off of the ground, flying up to the Nether portal and diving through it. He makes a beeline for the Mianitees’ area, stopping when he notices that the others are outside of Tom’s house. He keeps his distance, watching and feeling as the new, strange sensation beating against his chest twists and turns as Tom laughs.

 

What is the strange thing? Rage? Sadness? New ownership?

 

He scowls, turning around and rushing back through the Nether portal. Tom still has another in his base, and Jace knows where it is. He’s going to get his revenge. For Dianite.

 

He nudges a group of zombie pigmen toward the portal leading to Tom’s base. They follow his easily enough. They always have, with just a hiss from him. He ushers forward a few blazes as well, and would have brought a ghast or two if they would fit in the portal. He decides to leave the skeletons be for now, as the final part of his plan will be the easiest.

 

He already has the skulls.

 

As soon as he has a large group of pigmen, he slashes one with his claws. The pigman lets out a shrill shriek, lunging toward him. Jace darts into the portal, flying out and through Tom’s base. Pigmen and blazes take swings and shots at him as he moves, but he avoids them with trained ease. Tom’s possessions, including his bed, light up after being hit by fire balls from the blazes; his shelves and chests are demolished by pigmen’s swords when they try to get a revenge hit against Jace.

 

Jace continues on his path through Tom’s base, stopping when he gets to the door. A blaze catches the door ablaze, and once it burns, Jace darts through it. He knocks past Tom, which causes the ‘god’ to be slain. He only feels half-bad when the other Mianitees begin to fight and fall to the mobs, who are no longer interested in the Guardian they had been fighting. Jace sits atop the roof and watches for a moment before dropping down to the front of the house.

 

It takes Tom ten minutes to get back, but once he does, Jace tosses him an innocent smile.

 

And then Jace places the last wither skeleton skull, darting off as a Wither spawns where he had been standing only moments before.

 

\-------- 

 

Jay laughs when Jace admits to what happened. He only admits because Lara is frustrated over having to help clean it up, and while Jace feels bad for her, he feels like Tom deserves it. _That’s_ what Tom gets for killing Dianite. Jace high-fives Jay when the other Guardian offers up his hand, which only ends with Lara being even more frustrated.

 

“I can’t believe you,” she scolds, “what did we agree about destruction – especially of that degree?”

 

“He killed Dianite. So I killed his base,” Jace answers. “Sorry, not sorry.”

 

“I, personally, loved it,” Jay offers.

 

Lara sends Jay a warning look, which Jace notes the void-born pointedly looks away from. “Don’t encourage him.”

 

“I wasn’t,” Jay says quickly.

 

Lara sighs, flying off likely to see if she can assist any further. Jay grins at Jace, offering another high-five, and then portal-travels after her. Jace stares at the spot they’d been standing in before he turns, walking back to the Nether portal.

 

Once he gets to the Nether, he walks to Dianite’s temple. He stares at Dianite’s throne for a long moment, and then walks over, climbing up into the seat.

 

“Rest in peace, Lord Dianite.”


	36. Five Nights at the Arc - Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a moment, Sol sighs and looks at him again. “The Arc was created back in 2010,” he begins, “the company’s never really been popular, if you can believe that. Back when it started – when Lulu and I joined up because it was new and cool to work at an arcade – the place was empty almost all the time. There was never a need for a night shift guard because nobody paid enough attention to it."

Jay yawns, stopping the car he borrowed. He glances over at the restaurant and grimaces to himself, wondering why the place can look so chipper and lively in the day, but so gloomy and downcast during the night. He’s almost loathing walking inside. As much as he wants the answers Sol is promising him, he doesn’t really fancy the potential chance of finding out he’s been lied to or everything is just a prank at his expense. Maybe it is – or maybe someone altered the ‘special attractions’ last night to make them act so strange?

 

His phone beeps and he glances down at it, noticing that a text has come in from Braelyn, thanking him for returning Eris’ ribbons and asking where he found them. He quickly sends her off a message about how he’d found them at work and it was no problem; tell Eris he’ll see her over the weekend for her next tea party, thanks. With the message sent, he takes in a deep breath, puts away his phone, and walks into The Arc.

 

As soon as he gets through the door and skirts around a few children who aren’t paying as much attention to where they’re going as they probably should be, Jay spots Polaris sitting next to the arcade machines, looking about as chipper as she did yesterday when he brought Eris. Unlike yesterday, however, Lara is nowhere to be seen, and Jace peeks out once from the room he’s stationed in to send a sharp-toothed grin in his direction. Jay can overhear one of the employees or older kids talking about Lara, though. They’re saying something about how the ‘angel’ of the company is getting work done or something. Jay hopes they’re fixing her throat, but he thinks it must be a moot point. Surely if they could, they would have by now.

 

“Yeah, yeah, Lulu, I’m just about to head to—oh, hey!”

 

Jay glances up, caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of a golden-haired young man who looks only slightly older than himself. The man’s eyes are lit up with delight. Jay has half-the-mind to tell him off for suddenly losing the meaning of ‘personal space,’ but the young man doesn’t seem to be conscious of how close they are.

 

After a moment of inspecting him, the man steps back and offers his hand. “Hey, you’re the rookie, right? I’m Sol,” he greets. “Told you I’d make it in today. Now Kevin doesn’t have to give you ‘phone numbers’ again.”

 

For someone so concerned about his well-being or not being sued, Sol is very lax about showing off his discomfort about the company’s policies. Jay brushes his odd words off, shaking Sol’s hand. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m Jay,” he replies.

 

Sol grins, twirling keys around his finger. “Hey, I’m actually about to head out for lunch. Perfect timing, you know?” He chuckles and adds, “if you want, I can talk now. We just need to stop by the diner a few doors down. Have you ever tried their chicken liver parfait? It’s to die for.”

 

Jay grimaces at the word ‘liver,’ but shakes his head. “Can’t say I have. I just moved here recently.”

 

“Well, I’ll buy one for you. If you don’t like it, that’s fine – I’ll eat it,” he offers, and before Jay can even start to say anything, Sol is walking out the door.

 

 

Sol flirts a bit with the pretty waitress before letting her go to send in their order. As soon as he’s done, he turns to Jay – and Jay swears that Sol has somehow had a flip switched in his head. His expression has gone from goofy and playful, to serious and business-like. Jay wonders how Sol is able to do that so easily. He’s seen Braelynn and Dante do it around Eris, and a few of his friends can switch like that if the circumstance demands for it, but Jay doesn’t know how.

 

“So, you want to know anything particular?” Sol asks.

 

“Uh, not really. Just… what can you tell me?” Jay inquires. “About anything.”

 

Sol leans back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling like it will give him a list of things to say. Jay finds his own gaze starting to drift upward, despite him knowing very well that nothing – except perhaps ‘gullible’ – is on the ceiling.

 

After a moment, Sol sighs and looks at him again. “The Arc was created back in 2010,” he begins, “the company’s never really been popular, if you can believe that. Back when it started – when Lulu and I joined up because it was new and cool to work at an arcade – the place was empty almost all the time. There was never a need for a night shift guard because nobody paid enough attention to it.

 

“A couple months after The Arc was made, it was discovered that the Night family’s children had gone missing. There was this _huge_ search for them. They were all heirs to a pretty promising company, too, and the Night family are well-known and well-liked. The case stayed open for a couple months before it was just… cold-cased. The cops called it off for some reason. The entire town was confused,” Sol continues. “I remember reading in the paper and seeing on the news that the Night family was furious. They were threatening to sue over tampering of evidence, but without the proof that someone had bought off the cops, they wound up paying out the ass for failed court cases and hearings.

 

“About two months after that, The Arc unveiled their ‘special attractions’ and said that they were created in memory of the Night family’s children. They were created to look like them, down to eye-color, hair-color, clothing choices… everything. I didn’t know the three personally, but I know what they looked like – and it’s pretty uncanny how they look exactly the same,” he informs. “Lara Night was Mason’s daughter. She was the daughter of the eldest brother in the Night family. Polaris Night was Isabel’s daughter. Jace Night was…”

 

Jay waits for Sol to finish, but Sol just looks at him with a somber expression. “What?”

 

“Jace Night was the son of one Dante Night, and the adopted child of Braelynn. He was… He should have been Eris’ older brother,” he finishes. “If he hadn’t gone missing, he would be helping to raise that little girl, I’m sure.”

 

“Jace has… been dead for five years?” Jay realizes. “Fuck. It makes sense why Dante’s so protective of Eris now. I just thought—”

 

Sol nods. “I’ve never heard of Dante stepping foot in that place. Mason or Isabel, either,” he explains to Jay. “I’ve seen Braelynn bring Eris into The Arc a few times, but neither of them ever interact with Jace. I think it makes Braelynn miss Jace too much. She barely had time to get to know him, I think? I don’t remember. I’ve only met her a couple times myself, and I normally just hang around long enough to give Eris a few pieces of candy and a lollipop before I have to head back to work.”

 

Jay opens his mouth, but Sol sends him a pointed look. “Hey… don’t mention anything about that to Braelynn or Dante, alright? I don’t think they want to think about their dead son.”

 

Jay nods. “I wasn’t planning on it,” he admits. “My dad’s actually not too fond of the Night family. He and Mason are in the same business right now. I mean, I’ve never heard him talk bad about Isabel or Braelynn – especially not since we moved here – but he never has a good word to say about Mason. And apparently he and Braelynn were engaged for some time before she left him for Dante, so he’s not really fond of Dante, either.”

 

“Who’s your mom, then?” Sol inquires.

 

“Rae’s my aunt,” he answers. “Her twin sister’s my mom. Blake Hart?”

 

Sol nods. “Oh. Blake. So you and Jace are practically cousins.”

 

“Only apparently by marriage,” Jay confirms, “I didn’t know they had a son, though…”

 

“Here’s your food, gentlemen,” their waitress says, setting a plate down in front of Sol and one in front of Jay. Jay eyes the strange food on his plate, but he notices that Sol politely thanks their waitress before he leans in. Once she’s walked away, Sol gives Jay another pointed look.

 

“Can I tell you something?” He asks. Jay nods and Sol continues, “you can’t breathe a word of this to anyone outside of the company. Lulu and I shouldn’t even know, but our brother’s kind of involved in the whole thing.”

 

“Deal,” Jay offers.

 

“There was a rumor floating around after the Night children were killed that it was to get rid of the competition that the Night family was creating with The Arc since Mason and Dante were considering opening a similar place and a lot of the employees – Luna and myself included – were talking about getting jobs with them,” Sol explains. “After Jace and Polaris’ deaths, Isabel and Dante dropped out of the deal. Mason couldn’t make it happen without them, so he went to other types of work. He’s the only head left in the Night Company. Unfortunately, there was no evidence there to prove anything, despite the coincidence. That’s what the police said, anyway.”

 

Jay’s eyes widen. He expects Sol to lean back, laugh, and say he’s joking – but Sol’s expression is still serious. There is nothing about Sol that gives even the slightest hint that he’s joking, or that it’s a prank, or just Sol trying to scare him.

 

“That’s all I know,” Sol admits after a moment. “I’ve been working there since.”

 

“What happened with Luna…?” Jay wonders aloud.

 

Sol, who has grabbed his fork to start eating, tightens his fist around the utensil. “Can you not?” He growls, getting a forkful of food and stuffing it into him mouth.

 

The silence continues until they’ve both eaten, and Sol leaves Jay at the diner to return to work.


End file.
